Ice Blue
by goddesskali
Summary: The grin was wiped off his face immediately and his eyes changed into a cold glare as he stared at me, finally realizing my lie. He understood that I either chose him or my best friend, his enemy. Based off Magical Melody.
1. You want me to do WHAT?

"It'll have to wait until tomorrow, Kerri; I just got home. Later." Closing my cell phone with a snap, I opened my apartment door and stepped inside warily, immensely enjoying the burst of machine-cooled air that greeted me. I had just finished working fifteen hours straight, and as a Very Important Businesswoman, my job never seemed to end- even when I was home. Kicking off my uncomfortable shoes, I dragged myself into the kitchen to make my daily cup of after- work raspberry tea. As I passed my phone, I pressed the 'Message' button and listened for an inevitable work call as I filled the tea kettle with water.

"Hey Alex, it's Annie!"

I paused to listen, leaving the water running in the sink.

"Ah, geez, I really need you to call me as soon as you get home. I have some bad news . . . bye."

I pursed my lips, picked the phone up and turned it on, effectively stopping my messages from playing. My fingers dialed Annie's number through muscle memory, and I glided over to shut the running water off as the phone rang.

"Alex?"

"Hey Annie," I replied as I poured extra water out of the kettle into the sink. There was a relieved sigh from the other end of the phone.

"Oh man Alex, you're going to hate me!"

"Don't tell me you sold the farm," I warned, setting the kettle on the stove. Annie had moved to a small village a year and a half before, taking advantage of a small advertisement in the newspaper. She ended up with a farm.

"No, I didn't sell the farm," she chuckled weakly. "Are you sitting down?"

"I'm making tea," I told her, turning the fire off and pouring some of the hot water into my favorite mug.

"Okay. Well." She cleared her throat. "As my bestest friend ever, I need your help."

"Go on," I was out of raspberry tea. Damn.

"I got into a sort of accident and my leg is shattered in. . . a lot of places. But that's not all. . . " She trailed off, waiting for me to reply.

"Oh gosh, Annie, what else?" I dropped a peppermint tea bag into the water regretfully.

"I, um, kind of figured you'd be able to help me run the farm while I heal a bit . . ."

"I have a job you know. You used to work at the same place as I do now-"

"I know, but I already called your boss," she said, quickly cutting me off. "And you loved the idea of visiting when I brought it up earlier-"

"You called my boss?" I shrieked, literally throwing the tea bag into the sink.

"Alex-"

"I can't farm," I continued, "I have a life! I have a job! How can you expect me-"

"ALEX!" Annie shouted, ending my tirade.

"WHAT," I shouted back half-heartedly, glaring at my innocent tea cup.

"He said it was okay. He said you've been working nonstop since I moved, and it's more than enough. He's going to send a paycheck over here."

"But-"

"The ferry leaves tomorrow morning at ten. I'll meet you at the dock when you get here. Bring enough clothes for . . . awhile, and remember to bring slightly non-fancy stuff. Remember- Flower Bud Village."

"But-!"

Dial tone.

I glared at the phone in annoyed shock, knowing she had won. She always beat me in the end, so there was really no point in fighting back. With a defeated sigh, I replaced the phone in its cradle, grabbed my minty tea, pressed the 'Message' button, and settled down for a long night.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I yawned and shifted in my wooden bench-seat, tightly clutching my backpack on my lap. The ferry was virtually empty, and it was slightly unsettling to be alone on an old, empty wooden boat. My seat, close to the water, allowed a breeze and the strong smell of salt to invade my senses, and a disgusting humid feeling drew and stayed with me for the rest of the ride. Making sure my two suitcases were still securely planted under my seat, I looked up to see an elderly man smiling at me.

"I'm Captian Lay," he announced, holding a hand out for me to shake. I shook it politely and nodded.

"Alexandra Watson. How much longer will this be?" The captain looked thoughtfully at his wristwatch and then toward the ocean.

"Ten minutes at most. Are you visiting?" He continued without waiting for a reply. "Not too many people come out here to nowhere land."

"I'm . . . moving for an indefinite amount of time," I replied, trying to mentally send him a leave-me-the-hell-alone-please message. Lucky for me, he checked his watch and cleared his throat.

"Nice meeting you, Miss Watson. I hope you enjoy your stay. We'll be docking shortly." He turned and strode importantly down the wooden deck. I waited until he was out of sight before standing and swinging my backpack onto my shoulders. As soon as the boat docked, I walked off, carefully trying to balance the two rolling suitcases behind me and the bag on my back. True to her word, Annie, along with a short-ish man, was waiting uncomfortably at the end of the dock, leaning on a pair of crutches to avoid putting any weight on her bad leg. The short-ish man wore a kind of creepy proud expression.

"Alex!" Annie shouted as I approached. As soon as I was close enough, she launched herself forward and literally fell on me, trusting me to catch her weight.

"Guh," I replied, trying to stand her up from the makeshift hug as the man offered her the dropped crutches. He then offered me a hand.

"I'm Theodore, the mayor! Welcome to our humble village!" I offered a smile and returned my attention to Annie, as the mayor seemed to be suddenly distracted by a bird.

"You," she began sternly, reaching forward to tug one of my long black braids, "are too skinny. I'll fatten you up good." I recaptured my hair and gave my friend a genuine smile, infrequent if not rare in the land of the Alex.

"And you, Annie. You don't seem to have changed a bit." Annie smiled back, her face lighting up behind her brown bangs. Annie always wore her short brown hair in two pigtails to keep them off her neck. She wasn't skinny, but she wasn't quite fat either. Her clothing style had changed dramatically since she had moved to Flower Bud Village; now consisting of comfortable denim rather than dressy business suits.

"Come on, I'll show you the house," Annie told me excitedly, turning and beginning to hobble carefully out of the sand. I followed, still attempting my balancing act. The mayor didn't appear to notice us leaving. When I caught up to Annie, I asked her about it.

"There was a festival last night, and he probably pulled an overnighter," she told me, making a noise in the back of her throat as she pulled herself out of the sand.

"So he's not usually this . . . spacey?"

"Naw."

We passed through some trees and finally made it onto a cobblestone walkway. As we passed a large building and headed toward a bridge, Annie stopped to pull something out of her pocket and hand it to me.

"I drew a map up for you, as well as stuff about the people who live here. I made it color coordinated so that someone as slow as you could read it." The last sentence was said sarcastically, and I stuck my tongue out at my friend before taking the map. True to her word yet again, the map was brightly colored, and small colored asterisks were everywhere, informing me of who lived where and if they were nice or not. I refolded the map and put it in my pocket as we crossed the bridge and stepped up to a large house.

"This," Annie began proudly, "is my house!"

"You've done well for yourself," I told her, only slightly jealous as she opened the door. I followed her inside and immediately dropped my suitcases on the ground as she locked the door behind us. A boy with brown spiky hair and a small ponytail sat on a couch in the corner, watching TV.

"Ray, what are you doing here?" Annie asked, falling onto the couch next to him to peck him on the cheek.

"Waiting for you. I wanted to meet your friend," he looked up at me and smiled.

"This is Alex. We've been friends since middle school. Alex, this is Ray, my boyfriend." I walked over and shook Ray's hand, who smiled brightly at me. When we let go, I turned to survey the house. The floor was tiled and the walls were a light blue color. A large kitchen sat in one corner, and a bed was in the corner across from it. The rest of the room was covered in tools, bookshelves, and chairs.

"I just had the second floor added recently, so I haven't had time to rearrange everything. You'll be staying upstairs. You have the whole floor to yourself," Annie explained as I picked my bags up again.

"Cool," I agreed, walking over to the stairs.

"I'll help," Ray volunteered from the couch and stood up, taking my two rolling suitcases out of my hands before disappearing up the stairs.

"Hey, I didn't know you had a boyfriend," I told Annie accusingly, who giggled at me from the couch. "He seems to be a good catch though," I added thoughtfully.

"He is," Annie affirmed, nodding as Ray walked down the stairs. I went up as soon as he was off the stairs and moved directly toward the bed that sat in a corner. Flopping onto it face down, I let my backpack slide off the bed and land on the floor. I was already tired. Pulling myself up again, I picked up the suitcases that Ray had discarded by the foot of the bed and rolled them over to the dresser-vanity set across from the room. As I began to put clothes haphazardly into the drawers, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. Black bangs were tucked behind my ears, usually down past the bridge of my nose. A light layer of eyeliner brought out the green in my eyes. My black hair went to about mid-back length, currently in double braids. I was wearing my normal ensemble of black, black, black- a black sleeveless shirt and black shorts. The only color I wore was my pair of bright green sandals. I had packed regular shoes in my suitcase for working. Throwing the last of my clothes into the drawers, I pulled out a pair of socks and replaced the sandals with gym shoes for my adventure around the town.

I walked downstairs to find Ray and Annie completely absorbed in the television. I cleared my throat loudly as I headed to the door.

"Oh, wait!" Annie exclaimed, jumping up with the help of her crutches. "I need to warn you about," her eyes narrowed dramatically, "_him_." I raised my eyebrows.

"Alright."

"He's an egotistical bastard, selfish, and possibly my worst enemy ever," she said.

"Okay, what's his name then?" I asked patiently, almost amused at the expression on her face. Ray hid his face in a pillow to cover his laughs.

"_Jamie_," Annie said with a snarl. "Watch out for him."

"What does he look like?"

"You'll know when you meet him," she told me confidently. "You'll know."

"Uh, okay. Bye then," I waved with two fingers as I walked outside and closed the door behind me.

I wandered through the stone paths of Flower Bud village, greeting the random people that stopped me as I walked. They were all incredibly polite; some even giving me food as a welcome. Annie's map was still carefully folded in my pocket, as I had decided to make my own judgments about people without reading hers first. As I walked, I noticed a purple-ish house surrounded by the same color fence. Curious, I walked over to the house and into the backyards. Rows of fruits and vegetables grew in one end, and a large green pasture filled with assorted animals stretched across the majority of the other half of the yard. A boy, back to me, sat on a stake that made up a fence around the pasture. He wore a funny hat that was slightly on the side of his head, his hand on a dog that sat faithfully on the ground next to him. As soon as it caught my scent, the dog barked twice, and the boy turned around. Ice blue eyes bore into my green ones, and I approached, feeling shy.

"Uh, hey, I'm Alex. I'll be, uh, living here for awhile. . ." I trailed off unsteadily as he blinked at me calmly. As he seemed content to study me for the moment, I walked closer and sat on a stake a few feet away from him.

"Hi," he finally replied, his hand returning to its spot on the dog's head. I bit my bottom lip.

"Anything to do for fun around here?" The boy remained silent. Just as I was about to declare him rude and leave, he replied.

"It depends on what you consider fun," he replied in his soft voice. "I farm all day, mostly." He raised his eyes and easily met mine again.

"Oh," I said meekly, breaking the eye contact as a cow approached me. I cautiously patted it on the head a few times while the boy watched.

"Your house is purple," I informed him awkwardly as the cow wandered away.

"It is," he deadpanned.

"Why?"

He didn't answer or look at me, so I began to stand. As I turned to say goodbye, he stood as well.

"Would you like to brush a cow?" His face incredibly emotionless, he produced a brush from his rucksack and held it in my general direction, almost bashfully.

"Sure," I grinned, taking the brush from his outstretched hand.

"I'll show you how," he told me softly, waiting until I climbed over the fence before walking over to the cow I had pet earlier.

"They especially like circular motions," he explained, rubbing his hands fondly over the cow's back. I put the brush up to the cow's side and began to move it in a circle clockwise. The cow made a noise I took for happiness and I laughed. I faint glimmer of a smile appeared on the boy's face, but it disappeared just as quickly as I had seen it.

"What are you doing here anyway?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow, having taken it the wrong way.

"Excuse me?"

"In the village," he clarified, picking up a chicken that had strayed close to his feet.

"I'm staying with a friend for awhile." He nodded, setting the chicken down.

"You want some milk?"

"What?" I felt like an idiot every time I opened my mouth around him. It was different. Face blank, he stepped over the fence.

"I'm thirsty. Do you want some milk as well?"

"Oh," my face blushed hotly. "Sure, thanks. I'll just, um, wait here." He started inside, taking no notice of the color on my face. I watched as he entered the house, finally seeing his weird clothes for the first time. Hello, culture shock.

When he returned carrying two glasses of milk, I was sitting in the field, petting a sheep. When I turned around, I saw him giving me the same emotionless look. As I watched, a full blown smile grew from his mouth to his light blue eyes. It would have been creepy, had it not looked so cute.

"You remind me of my sister," he explained as he handed me the glass, the smile slowly disappearing. He resumed his earlier position on the fence, holding his glass loosely.

"Your sister," I began, swirling the milk in the glass. He sighed loudly and looked toward the darkening Fall sky.

"She used to live here. That's why it's purple," he fixed me with his gaze, offering no other explanation. I let the subject drop in favor of trying the milk.

"Wow, this is really good," I said brightly, staring into its milky depths. I saw him grin out of the corner of my eye.

"Thanks. The cow you brushed made it this morning."

"This is probably the best milk I've ever tasted," I informed him as I drained the rest of it and stood up to stretch and pull my shirt down. The boy stood and took my glass as I stretched my arms.

"You can stop by tomorrow if you have time. I'll be here most of the day," he offered hesitantly, shrugging. I smiled and began to hop the fence.

"Maybe I will. I'll see you later. . ." I frowned as I realized I didn't know his name. "I never got your name."

"It's Jamie."

Oh.

**_Shit._**


	2. Yeah, I'm a master fisherman

**I've gotten some comments on this, so I'm going to address it now as well as the beginning of the next chapter. In the game, Jamie is only mean to _your_** **character. You never see him/her being hissy at anyone else. The point of this is that he doesn't know Alex is friends with, or is helping, Annie.**

I retraced my steps to get back to the house in a daze, trying to decide how I would answer Annie's inevitable questions about meeting Jamie. If he had been an arrogant bastard or a pervert, I could have told her that easily. He had been just the opposite, unfortunately.

The house suddenly loomed in front of me, so I pulled the map out of my pocket and walked in. Ray was gone, and Annie was hopping around the kitchen cooking, no crutches in sight.

"I don't think the doctor wanted you to do that," I warned as she unbalanced and hopped into the open refrigerator.

"Hey Alex," she replied, pulling herself out. "How was your waaalk? Did you meet anyone," she paused, looking at me meaningfully, "_interesting_?"

"Mmm," I replied nonchalantly as I dropped onto the couch, suddenly exhausted. Annie looked at me from over her blender.

"Did you meet anyone," she paused dramatically again, "named _Jamie_?"

"I might have," I told her uncertainly, closing my eyes. I couldn't lie for shit. Annie sighed indignantly from across the room, and I heard her throw food into the blender.

"Isn't he just horrible! God, I hate him. Isn't he horrible?" She repeated, shaking her head slightly.

"Why do you hate him so much?" I asked, trying to avoid the question.

"Didn't you find out when you met him? Ugh."

"Well," I began, only to be cut off again.

"We can rant about his evilness together," Annie told me, smiling reassuringly.

"But-"

"Don't worry about it; you don't have to tell me. Hey get over here, dinner's ready."

I walked over to her, toting her crutches, and silently thanked God for letting me live at least another day. Annie could detect my lies a mile away, and I didn't want to have to sleep in the barn. Yet.

Annie handed me a bowl of fresh salad and poured dressing- what she had made with the blender- over it. I leaned the crutches against the counter and shook my head as she began to serve herself.

"Go sit. I'll get yours," I told her, gesturing toward the table near the TV.

"But-"

"Go," I commanded, taking the bowl from her. "You're going to break yourself more, and you're not allowed to until you tell me what I need to do." She took the crutches and swung herself to the table, mock-scowling at me as she went. I put my own salad on the counter as I scooped salad into her bowl.

"Okay," she began, lowering herself into a chair. "You're not going to have to do that much. I'll just need you to search for herbs, berries, flowers, and other random wild things that I can sell or use to cook, and I also need you to take care of the barn animals. I'll be fine watering plants, but you may need to buy seeds and help me harvest. I can also take care of the chickens myself."

"You sure?" I asked, handing her a bowl and sitting across from her, gripping my own bowl. She nodded vigorously.

"You don't understand that I can't just sit here and be helpless until my brace comes off. I can't just watch people do my work for me. You understand _that_, don't you?" Annie lowered her voice and fixed me with a serious look. I nodded and she took a bite of salad, satisfied.

"Where's the barn? And where should I forage?" I asked, twirling my fork around my fingers. Annie paused in her chewing and raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't even look at the map, did you?" When I didn't reply, she continued. "You just put it in your pocket, huh?" I blinked innocently and she laughed.

"I just didn't want to read your judgments and use them as my own. I promise I'll look at the map now though. I know how much work you must have put into it." Yum, food. I shoveled a few bites of lettuce into my mouth.

"I did work hard," she said defensively, pointing her fork at me 'menacingly'.

"Whatever," I said, standing. "I'm going to turn in; I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, from doing nothing. Remember to wear comfy clothes tomorrow!" I stuck my tongue out at Annie and put my empty bowl in the sink. When I got upstairs, I pulled a smaller bag including my glasses and contact stuff, shampoo, and necessary girly items, out of a suitcase and took it into the bathroom with me. I took a hot shower, put on my glasses and clean pajamas, and fell asleep before I could remember to dry my hair.

I awoke to an alarm clock buzzing in my ear at six AM, my glasses halfway across the bed.

"Morning, sleepy-head!" Annie shouted joyfully from downstairs. I groaned and rolled over to slap the alarm clock until it turned off.

"Ahayjoo," I muttered into my pillow, but Annie, who had somehow dragged herself the stairs, heard me.

"I love you too," she sang, digging in my drawers to find a pair of suitable clothes for me to wear.

"Al-leeex," she continued to sing, "you should have brought more working clothes! I'm going to have to get you some clothes." I heard her slide the stairs quickly, but she returned moments later to drop a heavy pile of fabric on my head.

"Hey!" I shot up, not wanting to be smothered. She was perched on the end of my bed, grinning at me as I glared at the pile of clothes. Her crutches were nowhere to be seen.

"Some of my old stuff," she explained, folding the clothes she had taken out of my drawers. "It might be a little too big for you, but deal. All the stuff you brought is crap."

"Thanks," I told her, narrowing my eyes. I picked up a pair of black shorts and cocked my head at it. "This is mine!"

Annie turned her head to study it. "Right. Remember those couple of months you stayed at my place to hide from your ex? You left some clothes. Like three pairs of clothes."

"Oh." I dug through the pile and pulled out three of my shirts and two pairs of shorts and sweatpants.

"You'll be able to wear that stuff, I guess," she sighed, looking toward the pile of clothes she had brought up. "Mine's still better." She went back to folding. I changed into my old clothes in the bathroom and glared at my hair- air drying made it get wavy. I put my contacts on and then double braided my hair like I normally did before walking out to find Annie.

"Are you out yet?" Annie shouted from downstairs, and I went down the stairs loudly in reply. A plate of eggs was on the table with a glass of orange juice. A backpack was also on the table. Annie was bustling around in the kitchen.

"Um," I announced when I was at the foot of the stairs.

"Eat," Annie gestured to the plate, not looking up from her cooking.

"I didn't know you liked to cook," I told her as I started to eat. "I always cooked at your place."

"Mmm," Annie replied from the inside of the refrigerator. "I just got into it," she paused to close the door, "when I moved here. If you don't eat enough when you work, you'll pass out. Hey, fill that rucksack," she stopped moving long enough to point the bag out, "with tools. I got Martha to make one for you. I think you'll probably find," she paused and dumped two strawberries into the blender, "the brush, milker, and reins to be the most useful, especially if you're going foraging. You'll have more room." I took my empty plate to the sink and dropped it in quickly, trying to stay away from the working Annie.

"You have the map?"

"Yeah," I told her as I put the map in my pocket again and picked up the rucksack. I went over to the toolbox and took out the brush, reins, and milker, putting them in the bag.

"Read the instructions about what to do for the animals. It's going to rain tomorrow, so put them inside after they've eaten."

"Okay, see you," I called, walking out and closing the door firmly behind me. Then I yawned and stretched; it was too early for me. I took the map out of my pocket and unfolded it, trailing my finger along it to find where the barn was. I sighed, seeing it all the way near the beach. Next to the barn sign Annie had drawn, it read, _Look for wild grasses, herbs, and mushrooms on the way there. If you seen any wild animals, you can pick them up. I've tamed most of them pretty well._

"Okay," I said out loud, walking over the bridge. I made my way into the forest and followed it straight back until I passed the woodcutter place. There was a pasture in the property next to it, a barn, and a lot of fruit trees.

_The trees_, the side of the map read, _were **such** a bad idea. I planted them before I realized that I should put the chicken coop with the barn. Now there's no room for the chicken coop here, so I bought more property and put it with my crops._

A cow, a sheep, and a horse grazed, and I took my brush out hesitantly as they all picked their heads up and looked at me. At the same time. Creepy.

I jumped the wooden-stake fence and approached the cow, _Clara_, the map informed me.

"Hi, um, Clara," I squeaked, approaching her from the side. The cow watched me noiselessly. I put the brush hesitantly on her side and began to brush in circles. Clara mooed happily and I sighed. "This won't be that bad." After I finished brushing the sheep, Fairy, and the horse, Tracker, I took the milker out of my rucksack and walked back over to the cow.

_It's not that hard_, the map read; _just place it where you think it should go. I know you can figure it out yourself_. _There are empty milk jugs in the barn, and one outside_. I found the empty jug outside and brought it back to Clara. I somehow managed to milk her correctly, and ended up with a full jug of milk. _Now go inside and turn it into butter or cheese. I have machines by the wall for that._ Instead, I took the reins out of my rucksack and hooked it around Clara's head. After I had led all three of the animals inside, I walked inside and took the milk out of the rucksack.

"Cheese or butter," I asked myself, walking toward the machine in the back. There was a yarn maker as well, I noticed, and a pair of shears sat atop it, along with a note. I picked the note up with my free hand. _Fairy- the sheep- will be all fluffy every Thursday. Remember to put the shears back up here so the animals don't hurt themselves. _

I walked over to the cheese machine and took the lid off the milk before pouring it into a slot in the machine. Moments later, cheese came out another slot. I picked it up and studied it in amazement before dropping it in the shipping bin at the other end of the barn. A large sign on the wall above it read- _**SHIPPING BIN!** You get half the pay, so don't forget to make butter, cheese and yarn!_ I nodded approvingly at the sign; half the pay didn't sound so bad to me.

"Done with that," I said as I walked back into the pasture, peering at the map.

_That should have taken an hour, maybe more on your first day. You can go foraging now if you want, or get my fishing rod and you can fish. I'm going to see if Ray will give you one of your own. Explore! You're free for the rest of the day! You can go meet the chickens if you want._

Following the map again, I explored around the beach, picking up a few mushrooms and toadstools as I went. When I had picked enough, I crossed another bridge and wandered around more, somehow ending up at the purple house.

I stared at Jamie's house, wondering if I should go find him or not. He had seemed really nice to me, but I'd be betraying Annie if I went. I opened the map to see what Annie had said. The asterisk at Jamie's farm led to a small corner of the map. _Ew, Jamie. _It read. _I tried to be nice and make friends with him when I first moved here, but he just hated me. Maybe because we're rivals? I don't know. Just watch out for him, because he's not somebody you're going to want to annoy. If you want to annoy someone, annoy Dan!_ Another asterisk led away to another paragraph but I ignored it. Jamie and I weren't really rivals, unless there was something else Annie wasn't telling me. I walked around the house before I lost my nerve and found Jamie filling his watering can.

"Hi," I said, putting the map in my rucksack. He looked up at me and meeped a 'hi' quietly, fishing his watering can out of the water basin. His dog wandered over to me and sniffed my hand as I waited for Jamie to finish watering his crops. He watered a few squares before putting the watering can away, and walked over to me.

"Hi," he said again, "I didn't think you would come." His dog wandered back over to him and sat loyally by his feet.

"I said I would," I told him, awkwardly shrugging. "I was going to go find some flowers and stuff to sell, but I thought I'd stop by here since it was on the way."

"Oh," he nodded and blinked at me. His eyes made me kind of uneasy. An awkward silence descended, and I ended up staring at my shoes.

"So," I began, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"I'm all done with my farm work now. If you have nothing to do, you can come fishing with me. I can show you all the good spots."

"Okay, sure." Annie, Annie, Annie, Annie. "I'll go run and get my friend's fishing rod and I'll meet you back here in a few minutes," I told him, waiting for him to nod before I took off running back toward Annie's house, following the paths. I didn't want him to follow me and then see me go into Annie's house, especially if Annie was still there, because she'd see him waiting for me. I was spinning a disgusting, messy web for myself to fall into.

I returned to Jamie's farm not too much later after shipping the mushrooms, Annie's fishing rod in hand. Jamie was waiting for me in front of his house.

"Ready?" He asked as I approached.

"Mmhmm," I replied, and he started walking. I followed a few steps behind him, just in case Annie was out and about. We walked past Annie's house without talking, and still kept going.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked, my feet beginning to ache.

"The lake close to the forest summit," he replied. "You been there yet?" I didn't even know there was a forest summit.

"No. . ."

I continued to follow him until we passed through another forest and ended up at a large lake.

"Up here," he said, still walking. I winced, slowing down slightly; I hadn't walked so much in a long time. He finally stopped near the northern part of the lake, and I sat on a large boulder to massage my feet. He sent me an amused look before turning toward the lake to cast his line.

"I don't normally walk so much," I said, giving him an excuse to why I had taken my shoes off to rub my feet.

"Hn," he said, apparently enthralled with fishing. I glared at the back of his head and stared sadly at my feet. Leaving my shoes near the rock, I picked my fishing rod up from where I had dropped it on the ground and approached Jamie. I sat under a tree a few feet away from him and awkwardly tried to cast my line. The hook ended up catching in the tree, and I heard a noise suspiciously similar to a snort emerge from Jamie's direction as he began to reel his line in.

"Shut up," I muttered, standing to unhook my line. Jamie pulled his line in, towing a large fish with it. He nodded at it and put it in his rucksack calmly. I shook my head at his turned back and stared at my line, five feet above my head.

"Um," I stated, staring mournfully up at it. "Looks like I fail at fishing." When I turned to look back at Jamie, I got a faceful of hat. Jamie raised his eyebrow at me as I jumped backwards slightly, having been surprised by Jamie suddenly standing right next to me.

"Can you climb it?" He asked, gesturing toward the tree. I giggled nervously.

"I'm afraid of heights." I giggled again, sheepishly, as he stared back into the tree.

"Fine." Jamie took his hat off, left it on the ground, and began to pull himself into the tree. His shirt, coincidentally, slid up as he hung upside down for a second, and I saw a glimpse of the most amazing abs I had ever seen in my life. Immensely embarrassed, I made a high pitched squeaking noise in my throat and ducked my head to rub my reddened cheeks.

Jamie swung down from the tree, fishing line in hand, and fixed me with his emotionless look. "You okay?"

"Yes," I squeaked, and cleared my throat. _Yes, I'm okay, but stop wearing that hat because you look better without it_. I took the line back from him and smiled gratefully, trying to clear my mind. He was corrupting me, I figured. Jamie continued to eye me until I started to blush again. "I'm fine," I insisted, turning around breathe for a few seconds. He made me feel like I was in high school with a crush. Great.

"I think I might just watch you for awhile," I told him, starting to the bank again without my fishing rod.

"Okay."

I dangled my legs in the water and watched as Jamie expertly reeled another fish in.

"Why did you leave your farm purple after your sister left?" I asked, trying to start a comfortable conversation. There was a pause before he replied.

"She didn't leave." I waited for a longer reply, knowing he might take longer than necessary to continue. Jamie cast the line again. "A few years ago I came here to visit her. It was winter." He paused again and sighed uncharacteristically. "I had gotten in a fight with my parents and they kicked me out."

I continued to swing my legs through the water, trying to appear carefree. In reality, I was listening incredibly closely. He had never spoken so much in such a short period of time before.

"There was a blizzard one night when I was out mining. I ended up staying in the cave overnight. When I finally was able to come home a day later, she wasn't in the house. I looked for her all day. I told the mayor just before nightfall, and he sent a search party into the mountains. They wouldn't let me go with." Jamie cleared his throat then and took a deep breath. I began to wonder why he was telling me this, besides the fact that I had unintentionally brought it up.

"I stayed in the barn with the animals until two in the morning, when the mayor came to get me. They found my sister. . ." He trailed off.

"That's good, right?" I heard myself say as I stared across the lake.

"No," he replied, voice lower. "She was dead. She was caught in the blizzard and killed." I gasped inadvertently, pulling my legs out of the water and closer to my body as my head snapped toward him.

"I'm so sorry!" Jamie's jaw was set, and he continued to stare into the water, ignoring me. I stood up quickly, not knowing what to do. He turned toward me suddenly, his face blazing.

"I should have stayed at the house like she told me to. She went looking for me and ended up dead. I should have listened!" He turned his back to me, and I watched as he clenched his fists until they turned pale. I stepped closer to the tree and watched him for a few seconds before stepping toward him slowly.

"It wasn't your fault," I said softly, still approaching him.

"It was," he said decisively, letting his hands relax.

"She knew there would be a storm. It was her choice to go into it; you didn't make her." I was standing just behind him now, trying to figure out what to do.

"Sorry about all of this," he told me, back to me. He turned to face me, looking normal. "I've never really told anyone about it before." He looked off toward the side before meeting my eyes again. "I don't know why I feel so comfortable around someone I just met . . ."

"It's okay," I told him, "really. It's getting dark though, so I need to get back. Will you be okay . . .?"

"Yes," he said quickly, putting his hat back on as I grabbed my fishing rod and watched him. "See you." His quiet voice had returned as well.

"Bye," I told him, grabbing my shoes and taking off in a run. I felt bad for bringing the subject up and making him freak out like that. At least I knew it was a touchy spot though.

When I reached Annie's house I was starving. I threw open the door to find her making dinner and Ray sitting on the couch.

"Hey guys," I said as I put the fishing rod away and threw my shoes by the door. I looked down forlornly at my socks, finding them completely ripped.

"Hey! What have you been up to?" Annie asked from the kitchen. Ray waved distractedly.

"Attempting to fish. I hope you plan on feeding me," I said, changing the subject quickly.

"Of course I'll feed you!" Annie exclaimed, putting a plate full of food on the counter for me to take. "Ray, get over here!"

Ray rose obediently with a grumble, grabbed his own plate and Annie's, and sat down across from me. I smiled at him as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Mmmanniedunlehmedothagan," he said after he yawned, and Annie giggled as she swung over on her crutches, dropping to her seat gracefully.

"You can catch dinner tomorrow then. How was your first day, Alex?"

"Interesting," I said slowly, examining a piece of eggplant.

"Your paycheck came today," she said, pointing to a letter on top of the TV. I perked up instantly and practically fell out of the chair to get it. Annie laughed and Ray almost choked as they watched me rip the envelope open.

"He paid me for an entire year!" I shrieked, shocked. Annie clapped.

"We're going shopping this weekend!"

"Oh great," Ray grumbled as Annie and I hopped around the room together joyfully.


	3. Amuse me, whore

**Before I start, I pretty much have to say you guys are awesome. Thanks for all the nice reviews D I addressed this last chapter, but most of you won't see it so I'll say it again- in the game, you never see Jamie being mean to anyone other than your character. In this story, Jamie doesn't know that Alex and Annie are friends, and he hates Annie ((your character in the game)) because they're both trying to free the Goddess. Does that help? Alex, as of yet, doesn't even know about the Goddess and notes and stuff.**

I woke up the next morning to the same, shrill alarm coming from the side of the bed. Groaning, I flipped onto my side and turned the alarm off before burrowing my head in the pillow again.

"I hope you're up, Alex!" Annie shouted from downstairs.

"How early do you wake up anyway?" I shouted back, lifting myself out of bed to get dressed.

"I woke up this morning at five," she yelled back. "I have your half of the pay from yesterday down here!"

I got dressed, did all of my primping, and ran downstairs to be assaulted with the smell of pancakes. Annie was in the kitchen, as usual, flipping pancakes and making orange juice simultaneously.

"You're going to hurt yourself without your crutches," I yawned, walking over to her.

"You have no trust in me. I'm wounded!" Annie exclaimed in a monotone, handing me an orange. "If you're just going to stand here, make juice. Oh, you haven't met my dog yet, have you?" Without waiting for a reply, Annie stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled _loudly_; then laughed at my pained expression. A brown dog with floppy ears ran over to us from behind Annie's bed and sat down near my feet, staring at me.

"How come I haven't seen him before?" I asked, leaving the orange on the counter so I could bend down and pet the dog.

"He usually stays in the chicken coop. Don't ask why because I have absolutely no idea," Annie replied, flipping three pancakes onto a plate. "You don't have to worry about feeding him, cause he'll usually take something out of the refrigerator while I'm not watching. Hey, where's that orange juice?"

I was out of the house a half hour later with a full stomach. As I stepped outside, I was instantly drenched by torrents of rain. The visibility was so low I could barely see ten feet in front of my face. Quickly opening the door again, I ran back inside Annie's house and closed the door behind me, wiping rain out of my eyes.

"Whatcha doing back so soon?" Annie asked from the table, still finishing her pancakes. "Are you afraid you're going to melt?"

"I didn't know you meant 'horrible sheets of water' rain, I thought you meant calm little drizzles of rain!" I exclaimed as I tried to tuck my bangs behind my ears. "My eyeliner's probably running down my face!"

Annie studied me for a moment before nodding. "It is," she agreed, but stuck her hand out when I took a step forward. "You're not going past that doorway if you're that soaked. Just use your hands and wipe it off. Make sure your hands are dry when you go into the barn. Today's Thursday, and you get to make some yarn!" I wiped under my eyes obligingly and sighed heavily, mostly for show, before opening the door and walking outside again. The map dry and safe in my rucksack, I began to follow the path across the bridge and to the barn. I reached the barn eventually, after many stops to pull my hair out of my face.

"Stupid rain," I muttered as I entered the barn, instantly attacked by animal smells. True to Annie's prediction, the sheep was incredibly fluffy. I fed all the animals by hand, brushed them, milked the cow, and followed the instructions on the map to shear the sheep and make yarn. By the time I was finished, my clothes had dried slightly and I _really_ didn't want to go out into the rain. I had to trek all the way back to Annie's house to dye the yarn, and then go up the mountain to find herbs and flowers.

Once I was back in the rain, I ran back to Annie's house, trying to reach it before the yarn got soaked and ruined. Annie had already left by the time I got into the house again, but she had left a note on the table for me.

_Taking care of the chickens, and then there's something I need to take care of in the mountains. I'll probably be gone all day, so don't go looking for me. I'll be fine._

I groaned at the note and tried not to imagine Annie limping all the way up the mountain. She probably had forgotten that I was planning to go up the mountain as well today. After patting her excited puppy on the head a few times, I took the map out of my rucksack and put it on the table. It had already gotten damp, and I didn't want to ruin it. I then ran outside for the third time that morning.

I reached Jamie's ranch in record time, as I ran the entire way. He was near the edge of his fence, so I jogged over to him to say hi. He looked up to see me coming, and walked around the fence.

"Hi," I said, pushing my bangs out of my face again. The feeling of hair plastered to my skin was definitely not one of my favorite things to feel constantly.

"Hey," he replied, looking just as uncomfortable as I was. "You going there?" He gestured toward the mountain path with his head.

"Yeah."

He nodded and paused. "Just," he paused again, scratching his head. "Be careful, okay?" Riiight, his sister.

"I will, don't worry. See you," I called as I jogged toward the path. The path up was difficult to follow, and I somehow found myself off it. I reached my hand into my rucksack to pull the map out before remembering that I had left it on the table.

"Crap," I muttered. I had already managed to get myself lost. I sighed and began to wander around, picking up herbs and honey as I went. After I had wandered and gathered for, I supposed two hours at least, I was getting sick of being lost. I had managed to get myself pretty high up the mountain, and I had no idea what to do or where to go. I started to wander back the opposite way. I eventually reached a bridge that I hadn't seen on the way up before and crossed it stupidly. There were more herbs and honey to collect so I picked them up as I walked forward, suddenly finding myself on a path again. As I walked, I saw a sign on the side of the road, hopefully meaning I wouldn't be lost anymore. As I jogged up to it, I heard voices sounding incredibly similar to Jamie's and Annie's from farther up the road. Curious, I passed the sign and kept walking until I could hear the voices more clearly. There was a bend in the road, and I figured that's where they were.

"I have forty-seven," I heard Annie's voice say. She sounded smug.

"I _will_ save her, you know," Jamie's voice said with a slight snarl to it. "Why don't you just give up and limp your way home?" I blinked, surprised. _That_ was the Jamie Annie had told me about.

"I don't see why we can't just work together. We'd be able to save her a lot faster," Annie said, her voice seeming a lot closer. I ran back up the road quietly and dodged behind a large rock as Jamie, followed by Annie on her crutches, emerged.

"Why the hell do you have to be so egotistical?" Annie was asking rhetorically, sounding incredibly annoyed. I tried to make myself smaller as they walked past my hiding place, oblivious to my presence.

"Why won't you just leave me alone already?" Jamie shot back, their voices becoming softer as they walked farther. Realizing that I'd get off the mountain if I followed them, I stood up, ignoring the wetness of my pants, and started to follow far behind the two. Apparently Jamie had pissed Annie off, because she had disappeared when I finally got Jamie back in my sight. I followed behind him quietly until I saw the end of the mountain path. After making sure he was far enough so that he wouldn't see me walk off the mountain, I walked onto the village path, deciding I would have been up there much longer if I hadn't found those two. Now I had a mission though, because I wanted to know what Annie had forty-seven of. There _was _something she wasn't telling me, and I sure didn't like being left in the dark.

I reached Annie's house hours later, a nasty cough starting to develop in my chest. When I went in the house, Annie was inspecting the dyed yarn, looking dry as ever.

"Hey," she said to me distractedly as she pulled something out of the yarn. "Nice job with this, although it could be better . . ." I took my shoes off by the door and shivered to myself while she continued to study the red fluff. Annie finally looked up at me, and her look turned to one of concern.

"Alex! Go take a hot shower before you get sick! Leave the rucksack down here, and I'll look through everything."

"B-but I thought you said I can't go upstairs-" I stuttered, wrapping my arms around my stomach as I shivered near the door.

"Go!" Annie insisted, rising from the chair. I gave her my rucksack, moving slower than normal, and went up the stairs to shower. When I came out and went downstairs, clad in a robe, my glasses, and wet hair, Annie was making something yet again in the kitchen.

"Sit down," she told me without looking up from her concoction. "I'm making you some tea."

"Is it the raspberry sort?" I rasped, my voice already sounding sick. Annie whirled around to stare at me.

"Alex, you're sick! Already!" She threw her hands up. "I'm going to have to get you to the doctor tomorrow." She sighed as she turned around again. "There's a festival in two days, the Harvest Festival, and tomorrow's going to be a super busy day. Try not to be sick now, please?" She pleaded with me, to no avail. I sat down at the table and covered my mouth as I coughed my lungs out, grimly wiping my eyes when I had finished. Annie hopped quickly over with the tea and placed it in front of me.

"Drink," she commanded, hands on hips. I picked the cup up and sipped the red liquid, watching Annie judge my movements.

"It _is_ raspberry," I exclaimed joyfully, coming out as a whisper. I set the cup down and pouted as Annie sighed again and returned to the kitchen to get her crutches.

"Hey Annie," I tried to call, "I think I'm sick."

"No shit, Sherlock," she replied, cleaning up. "You should probably go to sleep early tonight. Like, in two hours or something."

"Yes, thanks mom," I said sarcastically, cradling the tea.

"Well who else is going to take care of all my work for me tomorrow if you're sick?" Annie said, approaching me with a thermometer. I took it and begrudgingly stuck the metal instrument under my tongue as Annie tsk-ed at me.

"Your immune system must suck," she commented as we watched my temperature spike into the lower one hundreds. I shot her a glare and tapped my fingers on the table impatiently. It beeped finally, and Annie took it out of my mouth to examine it like my mother.

"You," she said, hopping to the sink to wash it off, "have a fever!"

"It's just a cold," I replied stubbornly before bursting into another coughing attack.

"If you wash your hands really well, I'll teach you how to make juice," Annie suggested. "You know, to get your mind off being sick. Or something. Maybe I'm just bored." She paused and placed the thermometer on the counter. "Amuse me, slave!"

"Of course. But only if you amuse me as well, whore. And hey, where did you say my money from yesterday is?" I walked over to the sink and washed my hands, sniffing approvingly at the strawberry soap.

"I put it on your bed. I figured you'd want to stash it somewhere. Did you call me a whore?" Annie slid a pot across the counter closer to us and brought fruits out of the refrigerator.

"Can I make some strawberry jam?" I asked randomly, sniffing the soap again. Annie eyed me carefully and shrugged, taking her time in getting out the needed ingredients for my jam.

When we had finished cooking, we had three jars of strawberry jam and at least ten glasses full of Very Berry soda. The rain had also stopped. The two of us sat at the kitchen table, one jar of jam open and half a loaf of bread spread sloppily over the tabletop. We each held a glass of soda; my second and Annie's third.

"I want to take a walk," I said suddenly, feasting on a piece of toast coated in jam. We sipped our sodas simultaneously, and Annie made a snort- giggle noise. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut you off," I announced as she demonstrated her horrible lack of soda-drinking ability.

"You gotta admit, we added way too much sugar to this stuff," she started before launching into a giggle fit. I watched her amusedly for a few seconds before joining in and then stopping suddenly as my laughs turned to coughs.

"That walk," I reminded myself, standing.

"Take some jam," Annie suggested in between her laughs. She grabbed her forth soda. "I don't eat it so much anyway. One of the extras."

"What am I supposed to do with it?" I asked as I climbed the stairs to change.

"Make a friend?"

I changed quickly and dug out my flip flops, as my shoes were still soaked.

"I have plenty of friends, thanks," I ground out as I ran back down the stairs, picking up the jam. Annie gasped dramatically when she saw me.

"ALEX! You're wearing your glasses! Your hair is down and you have no makeup on! And, what's this, you're wearing _sweatpants_!"

"Shut it," I demanded as I walked out. I heard Annie giggle behind me as I closed the door and sneezed into my forearm. I began walking south, deciding to explore the beach until I couldn't see anymore. When I finally reached the sand, I kicked off my shoes and let the sand slide between my toes.

"Alex?"

I turned around quickly, startled, to see Jamie standing not ten feet away.

"Oh," I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, "I didn't see you there."

"I come here every night."

"Okay. . ."

We were silent as I picked my shoes up again and looked uncomfortably into the sky.

"Do you like jam?" I asked suddenly.

"It's one of my favorites," he replied slowly, looking at me suspiciously.

"Well I have extra, so here," I thrust the jar into his hands and stepped back as he smiled at it.

"Hey, thanks."

"Yeah, uh, no problem. I had extra. So, um, I gotta get going," I told him, deciding I shouldn't have given him the jam. Annie would probably ask who I gave it to, and that lying thing. . .

"Bye," he said, still holding the jam. I turned around and made my way out of the sand and past the barn. When I got back to Annie's place, she was still sitting at the table, staring warily at the leftover soda.

"Alex," she croaked when I entered, "get it away from me! It's. . ." she paused dramatically, "evil."

"I'm too sick," I said before coughing convincingly, making my way up the stairs. "See you tomorrow," I sang as she groaned from the table.

"But Aleeexxx!"

"Night Annie!"

**Okay, no more fast updates. Don't expect another one until midweek at the earliest. But please review and I will reward you with pink-frosted cookies and chocolate milk.**


	4. Excuse me while I go kill myself

**In this story, they need 100 notes to free the Goddess, not 50. Just so you know in advance.**

_Trees stretched high and branched out above my head. I sat in the middle of a forest, surrounded completely by the trees and their dying leaves. Colored leaves fell and gently piled up around me. I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn't move. _

"_Alex," an unknown, melodic voice intoned from behind me. I turned my head and instantly closed my eyes as an eerie purple glow invaded my sight. _

"_It's okay," it whispered, and I found that my legs regained mobility. I stood shakily, my back toward the purple glow. "Turn around." Unwilling to turn around, my body moved on its own, and I desperately tried to keep my eyes shut to no avail. I gave up and gazed at the woman in front of me, the purple glow slowly vanishing._

"_Alex, I need your help," she told me calmly, and looked around. "I'm afraid I don't have much time." I opened my mouth, and found that I had completely frozen in place yet again. Her gaze returned back to me. _

"_Your friends are keeping something from you," she informed me. She suddenly wavered like a projection and then came back into view, clutching her head. "I need you to ask Annie about the musical notes," she said, voice growing desperate. "I need you to ask her about the Godde-" The woman disappeared completely and I fell suddenly to my knees as the world went dark. _

I landed on the wooden floor with a thud, my head a hairs width away from the pointy edge of the nightstand. I groaned and picked myself up from the ground, covering a cough with my hand. The clock read 10 AM. Sniffling again, I shrugged some plain clothes on and headed downstairs. The house was empty except for the dog, who wriggled toward me enthusiastically. I patted his head absently and quickly turned away to sneeze, scaring him away. I treaded over to the table where a note waited for me.

_I turned your alarm off. You were making a lot of noise early this morning, so I went up to check on you. I haven't seen a fever that high in so long, so I got Alex- the doctor Alex, hahaha- and he drugged you up. You didn't wake up the whole time, so I'll be surprised if you remember anything. Stay home today, and get better in time for the festival tomorrow! The animals are taken care of, so don't worry about it._

I sat on a chair with a groan and massaged my temples. I sure as hell did _not_ remember anything from the last night. The front door suddenly burst open, and the doctor stumbled through along with a burst of wind.

"Hi, Alex," he greeted me as he shut the door behind him.

"Hi," I replied, letting the note flutter down to the table.

"How are you feeling?" He walked over to the table and set a medical kit on it before sitting next to me.

"I feel fine. . ." _Except for, you know, I don't remember what happened last night_. The doctor pulled a jar of blue liquid out and handed it toward me.

"Drink," he commanded and I obediently placed the jar to my lips and drained it, wincing at the horrible flavor.

"Good," he nodded as I set the empty bottle down and began to cough horribly. While I coughed, he pulled out a thermometer and a few other medical instruments and waited patiently while I tried to swallow air. When I finally stopped, he took my temperature and checked my breathing.

"You're completely normal," he said, sounding baffled. He began replacing his things in his bag. "Your fever was one hundred and four last night," he informed me, still looking astonished. I raised my eyebrows.

"That high?"

"I guess if you're doing slightly better then I can go back to the hospital." He paused before he opened the door to leave and turned back toward me. "Drink lots of fluids and only eat when you feel like you can. Give a call if you feel sick again." He exited, leaving me alone with the dog. Overwhelmed, I folded my arms on the table and dropped my head on top of them, sighing. When I closed my eyes, a sudden purple light flashed, and I quickly picked my head up, looking around. Suddenly my whole dream came back to me, and I sat back as I tried to absorb it all.

"I probably had the fever the same time I had the dream," I realized, whispering to myself. Suddenly exhausted, I headed back upstairs and collapsed on my bed.

When Annie got home, I was lying on my bed like a good girl, hands under my head, trying to remember what the lady in my dream had looked like. I heard Annie scooting up the stairs and turned my head expectantly in that direction.

"Hey Alex," she began cheerfully, "how are you-"

"Who is the Goddess?" I interrupted her sternly, raising myself into a sitting position. Annie visibly paled as she approached my bed and sat on the end of it.

"Why do you ask?" She was clearly stalling, and she knew that I was aware of it. I waited for her to answer me.

"Oh, and tell me about those musical notes," I suggested when she didn't reply, and Annie looked at me warily, visibly tensing.

"How do you know about them?"

"I don't," I replied honestly, "But you do, so I was hoping you might tell me." Annie sighed and took a deep breath.

"When I first moved here, I had wandered up the mountain and ended up at the Goddess's lake. But I guess she turned into stone. Her little sprites," she looked toward me to see if I believed her, "the sprites told me I needed to collect one hundred musical notes to save her. Jamie was- is- also trying to save her. That's why he hates me. Most the notes can be recovered from doing random odd jobs," she sighed and fidgeted.

"How many do you have?"

"Eighty-six." She rubbed her temples and sighed into her hands.

"You know I'd help you find the notes. Why didn't you tell me about all of this? You told me to stay away from Jamie for no reason?" I was taking it as a personal insult, even though it probably wasn't.

Annie just shook her head. I stood up.

"I'm going for a walk then," I ground out. "I think I'll go talk to this Jamie character, because, you know, he shouldn't have _anything_ against _me_." Annie just sighed again as I made my way down the stairs.

"Just don't let him hurt you. . ." Annie's words followed me out the door as I left the house in a huff.

I burst out into the sunny, abnormally windy day, and headed toward Jamie's farm. There were two ways to approach this- I could either yell at him about the Goddess until his ears fell off, or I could act completely normal. _He_ wasn't the one who had lied to me, after all. I paused in my thought process as I realized I was being slightly hypocritical. But only _slightly_. Besides, I wasn't sure I wanted to lose him as a friend just yet.

Jamie was exactly where I expected him to be- in the backyard with his animals. He must have felt my angry aura when I stomped onto the farm, because he turned around and regarded me with a puzzled stare.

"Don't ask," I seethed, sitting on a stake. He shrugged and went back to staring into the sky, seemingly waiting for me to talk anyway. I sighed and kicked my legs.

"My friend lied to me, and I miss my work. I miss my computer, my raspberry tea, and my lonely apartment."

Now, if this day had been recorded on a video and I was able to watch it sometime in the future, I would be able to pinpoint the exact moment of . . . the end, and somehow beginning, of my life in a way. I may have even subconsciously realized it the moment it happened anyway, because I was just that smart. Let's start the countdown.

Five.

Jamie calmly walked over to me and sat on the stake next to me, continuing to stare at the sky while I talked.

"I'm glad you came though," he said softly when I had finished ranting. "You're the only person in the village that I've really," he paused deftly, "liked." I became utterly speechless and stared at my flip-flop clad feet, feeling my cheeks burn from the unexpected compliment.

Four.

"Oh, um. Thanks, I guess. I kind of," I cleared my throat awkwardly, "I kind of might like you too." The wind, deciding to tease me, blew Jamie's hat off his head and across the field, stopping near the feet of a cow.

Three.

"You should really stop wearing that hat. You look better without it." I felt his eyes on me and turned embarrassedly toward him. I had already gotten myself in this conversation a little too deep, and I had to finish what I started. "But I guess if you really like it then it's okay . . ." I paused in my rambling to bite my lip awkwardly as I considered Jamie's penetrating stare.

Two.

"Hmm," Jamie hummed under his breath, his voice dropping into a lower octave. His eyes slid down my face and rested on my mouth.

_Ohmygodohmygodohmygod . . .! _I licked my lips self-consciously and shifted awkwardly on the log.

"I think you're really pretty no matter what you wear." He muttered, his eyes examining my unbraided hair and naked face before sliding back to my lips. My mind went absolutely, positively blank as his eyes roamed back up my face to meet mine. I tried to think about puppies as his mouth opened slightly and his eyes were drawn back to my lips. When he started to lean in, my mind went blank again as my own eyes betrayed me and landed on his mouth. He was getting a little too close for comfort. My brain giggled girlishly and then imploded.

One. Right, here we go.

As Jamie stole our innocent first-kiss and my arms automatically went up to twine around his shoulders, the smart part of my brain told me that I was ruining everything; that I was bringing my 'downfall' on myself. But with Jamie's mouth pressed softly against mine and his hand on the back of my neck encouragingly, I shooed the thought away. I didn't even resist as he pulled me closer to him and deepened the kiss.

xXxXxXxXxXx

I burst in Annie's front door and slammed it behind me before leaning against it and panting. My hair was disheveled- not just from Jamie, but from the wind too- and my eyes were teary from the windy run back. Annie, who was sitting on her couch morosely, bolted up to examine my pale complexion.

"You're still sick, I knew it! Come lie down and I'll make you some tea." I allowed her to usher me toward the couch and I sat on it obediently as she hustled toward the kitchen. My brain was still trying to mend its frazzled circuits, and I felt kind of floaty. In a good way though. I was so floaty that I forgot to be mad at Annie.

_JamieJamieJamieJamieJamieJamie_

"Alex?"

_JamieJamie _". . . huh?" _JamieJamie_. Oh, I had truly lost it.

The back of Annie's hand was suddenly on my forehead.

"You don't _feel_ feverish. . ." I swatted her hand away and leaned back into the couch cushions.

"That's because I'm not." _It's been a looong time since I let a guy kiss me like that._ I looked up in time to catch an odd expression cross Annie's face.

"Alex . . . are you . . . _blushing?_"

I quickly leaped up from the couch and shot across the room as a wide grin began to stretch across Annie's face. She knew me too well.

"Is it . . ." she walked toward me, cornering me in a wall. I whimpered. ". . .Dan!"

"Ugh," I replied, rolling my eyes. The first time I had met him on my first day, he had planted the worst pick-up line on me. _Ever._

"Hmm, okay, it is a guy then," Annie declared, moving closer. "Was it . . .Blue?"

"You're never going to know, so leave me alone!" I screeched childishly as I shot past Annie to cower by the couch. Annie giggled at me.

"My little Alex is in _looove_," she sang, prancing merrily over to the kitchen as the water for the tea began to hiss. "I'll figure out who it is tomorrow though, so don't worry."

"What?" Um, confused much?

"You know," she turned to face me, holding the tea kettle in one hand. "At the festival. _Everyone_ will be there."

"Oh, right."

That was probably not good.


	5. Angsty wanksty

I woke up the day of the festival understandably nervous. I mean, it's not every day you make out with your best friend's arch nemesis, and I wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation.

"Take it as it comes," I muttered to myself as my feet dragged me sluggishly into the bathroom. I closed the door behind me, blocking out the noise Annie was making downstairs as she prepared. My eyes were puffy and gross looking- compliments of staying up all night worrying. I sighed as I dabbed cover up on the exaggerated dark circles under my eyes and did the rest of my make up as usual. By the time I had dressed and gone downstairs, Annie had made breakfast and was digging frantically through the refrigerator.

"I can't find the corn anywhere!" She grunted as I entered the room. "I know I left at least several stalks of them in here and I really need them for the festival . . ."

"I put them in the bin yesterday," I yawned and sat at the table as Annie removed herself from the fridge.

"Oh." She wiped her hands on her pants. "How are you feeling?" I tiredly began to eat my breakfast as she sat across from me. "Well?"

"Okay, I guess." _Other than the fact that I got no sleep and am probably going to be sleeping in the forest for the rest of my time here, I'm peachy!_

"That's good. Because I planning on finding out who your mystery guy is!"

I managed a sarcastic shocked look before turning back to my food. Annie sighed and stood up again, hopping into the kitchen to retrieve her crutches. I yawned again as she removed my mostly-empty plate from the table and took it to the sink to wash.

"We gotta get going if we're going to make it," she told me as she turned the sink on.

"But what about the animals?" I asked, hoping to buy some time.

"Naw, you can get them after the festival. Besides, don't you want to get there early?"

"Not really," I told her, standing. "Maybe I'll take care of the animals and meet you there later; if you're so excited about it."

"Party pooper," Annie pouted as she turned the water off and dried her hands. "Fine then. But you'd better show up, and show up before it ends too. It's going to rain tomorrow, so put the animals inside, kay?" I sniffed at her and left the house, immediately heading toward the barn.

"Okay, so if I get there later there's a slight chance that I can avoid being near Jamie and Annie at one time," I reasoned with myself, and then shook my head. "That's impossible. The square is too small to hide from two different people at the same time." I yawned as I stepped into the fenced pasture and did my animal-related responsibilities slowly, wasting time effortlessly. By the time all the animals had been taken care of and replaced in the barn, it was close to noon. I grinned triumphantly at the prospect of having wasted close to six hours as I began to walk toward the square.

A scent similar to the smell of Annie's refrigerator, except stronger, wafted around me and grew stronger as I approached the square. My nerves were buzzing. I approached one entrance to the square and took several deep breaths as I gazed over the people celebrating. Jamie and Annie were both there, along with several other people. I surveyed the stacks of fall vegetables and decided they were high enough to hide behind if I needed to. I took one last deep breath and headed bravely into the square.

"Alex!" Annie waved at me from one corner, Katie, Ray, Joe, and Dan surrounding her. I grinned weakly and cast a short glance in Jamie's direction. He hadn't noticed. I walked toward Annie and her friends self-consciously. When I reached the group, I waved weakly and was quickly pulled into a conversation that I had nothing to do with. Every now and then, Annie cast me a few suspicious glances and then looked around the square, looking for the 'mystery' guy. I coughed quietly and Annie looked at me as I began to step backwards, gesturing with my head. Unfortunately, the talking stopped with my cough, and the group stared at me.

"I'm, uh, going to wander around, kay? Nice to, um, see you all." I walked away quickly, heading toward the opposite end of the square so I could pretend to gaze at the lovely vegetables. When I reached the corner, I slid quickly behind the mound of veggies and waited until I thought Annie was wrapped up in conversation. Jamie was across the square from me, and across from Annie as well. He hadn't noticed me yet, seemingly in a staring contest with an eggplant. I looked toward Annie again and walked over to Jamie undetected.

"Hey," I said quietly as I approached. He jumped slightly and turned around, straightening his hat bashfully.

"Oh hey, I didn't see you back there." He rubbed the back of his neck as I giggled stupidly. He couldn't possibly be good for my mental health.

"So, um, it smells nice here?" My attempt at conversation was definitely not up to par.

"Um, I guess. Oh yeah, I, uh, found something I thought you might like this morning . . ." he trailed off as he reached into a seemingly hidden pocket and pulled out a blue flower. I knew from Annie's lectures that these were incredibly rare flowers. He held the flower out to me shyly and I took it, smiling unsurely.

"Are you sure? I mean these flowers . . ."

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Jamie slid his hands into his pockets and smiled bashfully.

"Wow, thanks!" I held the flower delicately as Jamie led me over to a corner with food made from the fresh crops. I discretely kept an eye out for Annie as we crossed the square; finding myself lucky that she had bent down awkwardly to tie a shoe. When we reached the small food area, Jamie picked up a plate containing something that resembled a pie and stared at it.

"Who makes this stuff?" I asked in wonder, using a fork to poke at an overcooked eggplant.

"Probably the mayor," Jamie guessed, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he stared at the odd mixtures off food on the tables around us. I reached for a plain raw carrot and chewed on it as Jamie continued to survey the food.

"At least this carrot is good," I said, continuing to chew on it. Jamie looked up shortly and nodded, seeming amused as he looked at the odd foods.

"Yeah, thanks, I grew the carrots." He sighed and straightened, scratching his head as he gazed up into the sky. "It looks like rain."

"It sure does," Annie's slightly angry voice rang from behind us. I bit my lip and turned around slowly, hiding the flower behind my back. Jamie's face contorted into a blank glare as he faced her.

"What do _you_ want?" He asked, his voice level. Annie raised her eyebrows at him and looked at me.

"Wow, I'm impressed. He's actually trying to stay civil to impress _you_!" Annie's eyes narrowed slightly and she frowned, her gaze flicking over the two of us. An awkward silence fell on us and I shifted slightly. Annie's glare instantly locked on me.

"I trusted you!" She began, her voice rising. "I trusted you and you've been going behind my back to meet," she paused disbelievingly, "him?"

"Annie, I—"

"Alex has a right to do whatever she wants," Jamie hissed, stepping next to me. Annie's glare intensified as she looked at him.

"Don't be so cocky, _Jamie_. She obviously hasn't been too honest with _you_, either," Annie put her crutches in one hand and leaned on them, her hand on her hip. I stepped back as Jamie's eyes narrowed in confusion, seeking mine out.

"I, um. . ."

"Well I have no time for this crap," Annie turned around and then glanced back at me. "Whenever you come back to your senses, you're welcome to stay with me again. After you apologize profusely, that is." I watched as my best friend angrily left the square. There was a moment of silence as Jamie and I watched her go. As if slightly on cue, lightening streaked across the sky and it began to pour. The villagers streaked out of the square, trying to cover themselves in vain. Jamie turned to me slowly.

"Care to explain?" His voice had dropped into a monotone, and his facial expression had become just as blank. I looked around helplessly, seeing the deserted square through my soaked bangs. I pushed them out of my eyes and stepped back again. Jamie continued to stare at me.

"I'm sorry!" I said desperately, shouting over the falling rain. "I wasn't trying to screw everything up like this." Jamie just stared at me. I could feel tears beginning to threaten, and I blinked quickly, looking at the ground.

"What now," I heard barely heard his soft voice over the rain. "Me or her?" I sobbed once and dropped the carrot to clap my hand over my mouth. He was asking me to _choose _between Annie and himself. I looked up at him and shook my head quickly, the bored expression on his face making me cry harder. When he didn't say anything else, I threw my arms in the air.

"I can't choose between you!" I cried, gripping the flower a little too tightly. "How can you expect me to choose!" Jamie paused for a moment and finally looked away from me and up into the dark clouds.

"I really like you, you know," he said softly, looking back at my face. I didn't reply, hiding my face behind my unoccupied hand. It began to rain harder, and a close lightening bolt caused me to jump. I saw Jamie bite his bottom lip through the gap in my fingers and watched as he looked at me indecisively.

"I'll give you another chance," he finally said. I looked up in surprise as he nodded to himself.

". . . Thank you. . ." I lowered my hand from my face. Jamie took a step back and shook his head, his eyes obscure under his wet bangs. I looked on as he took another step back, farther away from me.

"Just not yet," he finished, looking me straight in the eye before turning and walking away, leaving me alone in the square.

I watched him until he disappeared in the rain before turning and running aimlessly. I could barely see through the mixture of rain and tears and running make up, and I ran until I felt my feet sink into wet sand and water ran up to my ankles. I sunk to my knees and stared out into the ocean hopelessly as the storm raged around me. I hated feeling desperate.

By the time I had removed myself from the ocean, my clothes and hair were completely soaked. Shivers climbed my spine and I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling my old sickness returning. I coughed twice and began to head to the river, where I followed it until I reached the Inn. The door was closed and locked, and I banged on it desperately for a minute before stepping back. I _hated _feeling desperate. I _hated_ angst.

I headed for the first warm place I could think of, hoping to sleep the rest of the day, or my life, away.

I ended up sleeping in the barn, sharing body heat with two sheep.

When I woke up, the flower had been crushed.

**Sorry for the shortness, but I had surgery on my shoulder so typing isn't exactly easy. **


	6. WHAT? TIME?

The next morning, after I had tended all the animals- there was no need for them to suffer, right?- I headed to the Inn, feeling disgusting as my dirty clothes stuck to my skin. My hair was in desperate need of a washing and dried makeup had stained my face in trails.

"What happened to you, kiddo?" Doug asked in surprise as I trudged slowly into the building.

"Can I have a room?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful. I even managed a smile. Gwen appeared from the back room as I grinned. She gasped and dashed over to me, linking a careful arm around my shoulders and pulled me toward the stairs.

"Be careful with her," Doug shouted from the front. Gwen ignored him and pulled me up the stairs and into an empty room. She let me go and closed the door behind us, planting her hands on her hips. I sat silently on the bed as she studied me.

"I'll lend you some clothes," she paused and tapped her mouth with a finger. "Go take a shower and I'll leave some outfits on the bed for you. Don't worry, I won't ask," she added as an afterthought as she left the room, closing the door swiftly behind herself. I sat on the bed a moment longer, wondering why she was being so nice. The day I had met her, she hadn't exactly seemed like the 'best friend' sort to me. But hey, kindness was always welcome. Especially when I had no clothes and nowhere to sleep.

I took a hot shower and hung my wet clothes over the side of the tub when I was done. Wrapped up in a fluffy towel, I walked back into the room and dressed in some of Gwen's clothing- a short jean skirt and a plain white tank top. I dried my hair straight and washed the rest of my makeup off my face before cleaning the bathroom completely, except for the dirty clothes. Gwen reentered the room sometime while I was cleaning and watched silently from the doorway.

"There's people who do that for you, you know," she finally remarked as I disdainfully scooped my dirty clothes off the tub. I walked past her and back into the room.

"Do you have a really big plastic bag I can use?"

"You know, if you ever need a job cleaning . . ." Gwen re-emerged from the bathroom looking impressed. "I think Doug would be happy to pay you twice the amount he's paying me to clean. I'm not fond of it."

"A bag?" I asked again, the clothes beginning to drip onto my feet and the floor.

"Right, a bag." She went back into the bathroom, and I heard her open and close cabinets as I tried to keep the water from soaking through my shirt.

"So I said I wouldn't ask," Gwen began in between shuffling, "but if you want to tell me. . ." I sighed as she reemerged, looking bashful.

"I did some things and Annie didn't like it," I told her shortly, taking the bag from her and throwing my wet clothes inside.

"Uh huh. . ." Gwen scratched her head and twirled a lock of blonde hair between her fingers. "Anyway, you can have this room for as long as you want. I'll get Doug to lower the rate for you, since you're helping out a crippled friend." She winked at me.

"Do you know what happened to her anyway?" Gwen laughed.

"She didn't tell you?" I didn't answer, and she laughed again. "She fell out of a tree!"

"What was she doing in a tree? She hates heights!" I exclaimed as Gwen leaned over and clutched her sides, laughter pealing from her mouth.

"R-Ray threw her shoe up in it," Gwen stuttered and choked as she tried to speak through her laughter. I started to giggle.

"You mean sh-she fell out of a tree because her shoe was in it!" By this time, we were both laughing hysterically. It wasn't even _that_ funny.

"Do you-" Doug paused by the door as he took in the scene in front of him. Gwen was now literally rolling on the floor and I was curled into a ball on the bed, clutching my stomach. I waved weakly at him when I noticed his presence, and he raised his eyebrows. Gwen stopped laughing in favor of breathing and slowly raised herself from the floor.

"Well that was fun," she straightened her clothes and wiped tears from her eyes weakly. I groaned and uncurled myself from the bed, my throat hurting from laughing.

"I was going to say," Doug began again, "do you need anything else?"

"Heh, no thanks," I grinned. He nodded and turned to Gwen.

"You have some work to be doing . . ."

"I know, I know," she sighed and turned to me. "If you want to clean rooms for me . . ." She winked as she left the room with Doug, leaving me alone in the room, feeling exhausted and alone. After brushing my hair out, I left the Inn to go foraging in the mountain. I slowed down as I approached Jamie's house, wondering if he was there. He wasn't, so I sped up again and began to follow the path up the mountain.

After a few hours in the mountain, I had a full rucksack and two of the pretty blue flowers that Annie had told me to give her directly if I found any. I went back down the mountain and headed toward Annie's house, slowing appropriately as I passed Jamie's still-empty house. When I reached Annie's farm, I snuck up to the door and peered in through a window to see if she was home. Luckily, she wasn't. I dumped my findings in the shipping box, minus the flowers, and easily entered the house. After I closed the door behind me, I placed the two flowers in the vase that sat on Annie's kitchen table. Before I turned to leave, I noticed an envelope sitting atop the TV. It had my name on it.

I opened the envelope to find my pay. As I counted through it, my eyebrows rising after I reached $1,000, I heard the door open. Annie walked in and looked up at me carefully before slinging her rucksack over her toolbox.

"Hey," she said cautiously. I was almost surprised that she spoke first, but she probably thought I was mad at _her_. Well no, I was mad at her. The whole kicking-me-out-and-leaving-me-with-nowhere-to-go thing.

"Hi," I said back coldly, pretending to still be counting the money. If she was going to apologize, then hey, that saved me a lot of trouble.

"I, um," she paused and hopped to her table to sit. I fingered through the money again, my back to her, as she stuttered.

"I'm sorry, okay! But how could you _ever_ hook up with Jamie?" I turned around to meet her glare with my own.

"Because he doesn't suck to me, okay? He's _nice_ to me. He spilled his deepest secret to me. The last boyfriend I had . . ." I trailed off, and Annie let me. My last boyfriend was super-controlling, and Annie had let me stay at her place when I tried to dump him.

"I just don't see why it couldn't be someone like Carl," she said quietly. "I just don't know what you see in him."

"But. . . you're okay with it then?"

"Do I have a choice?" She gave me a half smile and shrugged halfheartedly. "Do what you want, as long as you do your job." She shook a fist at me. "Now get yourself moved back in here, you slut."

"Well since it's sappy time, I'm sorry too. For, you know, all of this stuff. Um, the end."

"You never were any good at apologies," Annie noted dryly, but nodded. "What, do you need me to poke you in the back until you move back in here to be my house slave?"

"I have someone to talk to first," I said. "And besides, I was looking forward to getting away from you." Annie snorted as she began to make dinner.

"You might want to change first. The whole wet white shirt thing makes you look like a stripper."

"Thanks, Annie," I replied sarcastically, but I took the not-so-subtle hint and changed into one of my own shirts.

"So we're cool then?" Annie shouted as I headed out the door.

"Only if you feed me," I yelled back before closing the door behind myself. I headed toward Jamie's house, feeling slightly confident now that Annie was okay with me liking Jamie. Jamie was home this time; he stood in the back watering his plants. I headed to the backyard hesitantly, pausing when his dog trotted over to sniff me. Jamie turned around and fixed me with his unsettling stare.

"Um, hi," I started, suddenly feeling a lot less confident. His dog gave my hand a single lick, and headed back to his master. Jamie inclined his head slightly at me, but didn't say anything. I fiddled awkwardly with my borrowed skirt as he stared at me.

"Annie's okay with it, so I figured . . ."

"You figured I'd be okay now too?"

"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, already tired of explaining myself. "What do you want me to do to prove it?" One eyebrow went up, destroying Jamie's monotone face.

"Prove? Prove what?"

"I don't know!" I almost shrieked, exasperated. "Can we start over or something?" Another eyebrow rose, and Jamie's expression became 'surprised' or 'amused'.

"Start over?"

"Can you answer me with something that isn't a question?" I was aware of the fact that we were now bickering like an old married couple.

"Fine. Time."

"Time?"

"Hypocrite."

"What is 'time' supposed to mean to me?" I yelled.

"I. Need. Time," he actually seemed to _growl_ at me, which threw me off. "We're _rivals_ now, don't you get it?" I stood silently, my hands by my sides, watching him. He slowly mimicked my position, staring back at me. We seemed locked in an intense staring contest, until-

"Have you had enough time yet?"

"Just because _your friend_ forgave you so quickly doesn't mean that I will."

"We've been friends for as long as I can remember; of course she forgave me!" Jamie's expression curved back into 'amused', before dropping back into a blank stare.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow or something, okay? I've got work to do." He turned and walked into the barn without another word. I stood where I was, somewhat shocked. _That_ didn't go as well as I had planned. I turned and walked off his property, defeated.

A quick look at my watch told me that it was getting late, and my stomach told me it was past dinner time. I hurried over to the Inn to pick up the bag of clothes and thank Gwen, who asked me to come over the following day to hang out after I was done with my work. When I finally returned to Annie's house, my stomach was growling like crazy and the bag of still-damp clothes seemed to have gotten heavier.

"Eat!" Annie exclaimed as I walked in the door. I threw the bag down by the door and walked over to the table where a plate waited for me. Annie was watching TV with her dog in her lap.

"Good thing you can cook," I said as I sat down. I got cranky when I didn't eat.

"You should have taken cooking with me in high school. Hey look, Nami's on the weather!"

"Okaaay . . ." I had no idea who Nami was. I ate quietly, thinking over the situation with Jamie and Annie. I was incredibly lucky that Annie had forgiven me so fast. It would probably come back up to bite me in the butt later though, assuming Jamie didn't wait a year or two to forgive me as well. I washed my plate in the sink and went to retrieve my bag.

"Leave it, I'm doing laundry tonight," Annie said. "Besides, you look disgusting in Gwen's skirt-thing." I looked down at the skirt and raised my eyebrows.

"Thanks. I can always count on your honest opinion," I remarked sarcastically as I began up the stairs.

"Honesty is my best quality," Annie called back. I walked into the bathroom grinning. I was lucky to have Annie as a friend.


	7. Snow

_She watched him through partly-closed eyelashes; his hair seemed to gleam underneath the dim lights of the motel. He leaned forward and pulled his fingers through her silky hair, gently pulling her closer all the while. She moaned softly as his hands touched the back of her head and found herself climbing closer to him as his hands linked carefully behind her neck. As she tripped forward, she found her hand hovering over his_-

**SNAP!**

I jumped back as Annie closed her book and stared over the back of her chair accusingly at me.

"Who said you could read over my shoulder?" I raised my eyebrows and started laughing. She continued to scowl at me.

"Why are you reading that crap anyway?" I asked in return when my giggling had slowed. I leaned forward and grabbed the book before she could protest. "Smut!"

"No," she sighed and reclaimed her book from my hands. "Just . . . a scene." She sighed again, exasperated, as she noted that her bookmark had fluttered out of the book and across the room. "You lost my spot!"

"Books like that need to be confiscated," I remarked as I picked the bookmark up off the floor. I waved it at her. "You must be horribly bored to be reading _smut_."

"It is not smut!" Annie seethed as she grabbed the bookmark out of my hands, hopping back to the armchair. "And you seem to be the one who is bored, little miss annoyance."

It was Winter third, exactly one week and two days after the Harvest Festival fiasco. Annie and I seemed to be on perfect terms again, especially after the super-successful surprise birthday party we had planned for Ray four days before. Jamie still hadn't forgiven me yet, and Annie wanted me to move on.

"What am I supposed to do, anyway? We're snowed in," I replied, pointing out the obvious. I walked over to a window and peered out, scanning the snow that almost completely covered the window itself. "All that's on TV," I continued as I sat on the couch across from Annie's chair, "are stupid cooking shows."

"I like cooking," Annie noted absently as she continued to read. "Besides," she took a moment to look up at me, "Ray and Joe will dig us out." She waved her arm dismissively at me. I made an annoyed noise and started up the stairs.

"Can I just jump out a window?"

"I wouldn't suggest that. Just sit still, will you?" I climbed the rest of the stairs and wandered over to the window.

"I'm gonna jump, Annie," I called. "I'm gonna jump!" There was an annoyed sigh from downstairs.

"Alex. . ." Annie called warningly, "you won't be helpful if you break yourself." I slid the window open gleefully and leaned outside, feeling adrenaline pump through my veins as the cold wind blew into the house, as well as tiny snowflakes.

"Alex! What the hell . . .!" Annie shouted from downstairs. I heard the thump as she jumped off the couch and grabbed her crutches.

"Annie, there's like six feet of snow out there!" I loved snow. It barely ever snowed back home. I heard Annie curse softly as she got up the first step.

"Alex, come on. You're acting like a five year old." I leaned farther out the window and my hair was lifted completely off my back as a gust of wind burst into the room. There was another loud thunk as Annie made her way on the second step. "Stop playing around!"

"I'm a big girl," I called back, "and I doubt a jump front the second story into a lot of snow is going to kill me." I leaned back into the room and let go of the window sill, running happily over to the dresser. "I'll bring my cell phone, so don't worry!" I raced back over to the window, sliding the cell phone into my back pocket.

"Where do you think you'd go?" Annie shouted up the stairs. She was on stair number three now.

"I'm gonna go take care of the animals! Oh, I need to dress warmer." I hopped away from the window sill and flounced over to the drawers to dig for warm clothes. I changed and waited for Annie to get to the top of the stairs before jumping.

"Alex, how about I make you some apple cider or something?" She called hopelessly. By the noise on the stairs, she was almost at the top. "Or-" Annie appeared at the top of the stairs, looking exhausted. Her expression quickly shifted to horror as she viewed me perched completely on the window sill, feet and all. Her mouth fell needlessly open.

"Don't worry; I'll be back before dinner!" With that, I launched myself off the window and fell ten feet into the snow. I sank all the way to the bottom and quickly stood up, my eyes barely reaching over the top of the snow. I looked up to see Annie hanging out the window, looking concerned.

"I don't think you should try this," I called. "I'm not sure how it would work with your crutches." Annie rolled her eyes at me from above and closed the window, disappearing into the house. I grinned at the window and began digging myself through the snow slowly. I finally reached the street where the snow had melted down slightly, only reaching up to my stomach. I took a moment to shake the snow out of my hair before beginning to dig myself through the pathway, leaving a big enough path so that I wouldn't need to dig another trail to get back. It took me at least an hour to reach the barn, and after tending to the animals, I sat in the corner to warm up a little. I took my homemade trail back toward Annie's house and then began to make a new one toward the chicken coop. The sun was almost down by the time I had finished with the chickens. I was a little too tired to go straight back, so I picked up my phone and dialed Annie's number.

"Alex!"

"Um, I won't be home quite yet," I said as I suppressed a shiver and burrowed deeper into my jacket. I had finally gotten over that blasted cold, and now I'd probably get another.

"Where are you?"

"With the chickens. Would you like to talk to them?"

A sigh. "Just call if you think you're going to die or something." I walked back out of the coop and gazed around. The sky was pitch black.

"Um," I said again. There was a pause as Annie looked out the window.

"Alex," she groaned, "why do you have to do this to me?"

"Don't worry about it," I said quickly, switching the phone to my left hand. "Don't expect me back tonight. I'll be fine," I hung up before she could say another word, and slid the phone back into my pocket. The only place I knew of that was close by and definitely had someone home was . . .

Oh come on, who do you think?

I started back into the cold snow and began making my way toward Jamie's house. In the pitch blackness of the sky, I could barely see at all. I finally saw a burst of light coming from ten feet up and wandered close to it. Jamie's house was also completely surrounded by snow. I walked up to the door and banged on it.

"Jamie!" _Bang bang bang._

Pause.

_Bang bang bang. "_Jamie, I need help!" I pressed my head against the door and heard loud music coming from inside the house. I sighed and backed up, realizing he couldn't hear me. I began my way toward the back of his house, stopping when the snow suddenly disappeared. Jamie stood in the middle of his yard-hatless- holding a shovel and wiping his forehead warily. There were large trails to his chicken coop and barn, and a large circle of snow-less land near the back of his house. I stumbled forward as the snow disappeared from underneath me, catching Jamie's attention.

"Hey," he called, stepping toward me as I picked myself off the ground. I wiped the snow off my clothes and shuddered again.

"Hey," I replied. "I, uh, got stranded." My arms wrapped around my soaked torso as he approached.

"I see that." He paused, looking over my shivering frame. "Well, come inside. I'll give you some clothes or something." I followed him to the door, where he left the shovel propped up, and then inside his house. The music became a lot louder as we stepped inside, and Jamie turned it off quickly, blushing.

"You can leave your shoes and rucksack here. I'll get a towel." With that, he walked farther into the house and walked up the stairs. I took a moment to look around his house. I was nowhere near as purple as it was on the outside; it actually resembled a normal bachelor pad. Plain dark blue paint covered the walls, and a white tile stretched across the floors. A slightly large TV sat in one corner with a white armchair across from it, a lamp next to the chair and a bookcase next to the lamp. The kitchen was across the room, and slightly smaller than Annie's. A shelf was in the last corner, accompanied by another small chair that currently held Jamie's sleeping dog. A plain wooden table, similar to Annie's, was in the middle of the room with three chairs around it. Jamie came back down the stairs and walked back to me with a large white towel.

"You can use the shower if you want. You can borrow some of my sister's clothes . . ." He trailed off and looked for a reply.

"Okay, tha-tha'd be great," I shivered, wrapping myself up with the towel. He nodded and led me upstairs, through his plain bedroom, and to the equally plain bathroom.

"Those towels are clean," he pointed to a rack covered with two towels, "so you can use them. Um, let me get some clothes for you." He walked out the door and vanished. I pulled a towel off the rack and laid it across the toilet seat, waiting patiently. Jamie returned with a purple sundress draped over his arm, looking sheepish.

"This is all I have . . ."

"It's great," I said quickly, taking the dress from him. I put it beside the toilet seat. "When I'm done, we'll talk."

"Talk," Jamie blinked at me, the nodded. "I guess so." With that he left the bathroom, closing the door softly behind him. I took a short shower, oddly annoyed with his generic shampoos, and wrapped my hair up into a towel-turban before sliding the loose purple dress on. I looked around self-consciously for a blow drier, but there wasn't one. With a sigh, I towel dried my hair before beginning downstairs, holding my damp hair carefully over my shoulder with a hand. I didn't want to get the dress wet. Jamie was idly trying to fix the TV when I got downstairs.

"So," I said to announce my presence. He looked up and watched as I tried to flip my wet bangs out of my eyes.

"So," he echoed, stepping away from the TV. I fiddled with my hair.

"So . . . it's been awhile," I drew out, leaning carefully against the table. Jamie nodded, seeming to get the meaning behind my words. Neither of us had brought up the whole Annie thing. Jamie's face etched itself into the familiar monotone.

"I think we should start over," he said slowly, looking hesitantly at my face. Before I had a chance to speak, he continued. "I need to trust you in order to have any sort of," he fumbled silently for a moment, "relationship."

"So . . . what then?" I waited for a moment before continuing sarcastically, "Hi, I'm Alex and my best friend is your rival or enemy or whatever she is. Nice to meet you!" I held my hand out and he stared at it blankly. I let my hand fall.

"No," he said shortly, sounding annoyed. He walked past me and into the kitchen. "Do you want tea or something?"

"Hey, don't change the subject!" I turned around and watched him fill a teakettle with water. "But yes, I will have some tea. Raspberry, if you've got it." He nodded.

"Act normally," he said, back to me. "I don't know. We'll see if whatever there was is worth saving. And don't," he said quickly as I opened my mouth, "be argumentative. Just don't." I closed my mouth, angry.

"That's not fair," I said, sounding unpredictably childish. "You can't just tell me to act normally around you while you decided if you like me." I felt desperate tears pricking at the back of my eyes and I bit my lip. "You can't just tell me to wait around while you decide if it's worth it to like me. Because I really like you," I added the last part in a soft undertone. Jamie had stilled his movements in the kitchen and I was now feeling the intense desire to run away. That was more humiliation then I'd usually take in a month. I grew even more uncomfortable as Jamie picked up the teakettle and began to silently pour the hot water into two mugs. I fidgeted. Finally, he turned to me. His face had become a mask.

"You're right, it's not fair." He leveled me with his stare and I blinked and looked toward the floor. He was suddenly right in front of me, his shadow falling into my line of sight. I could feel his body heat. I felt myself flush at the proximity.

"It's _not_ fair," he repeated again, softer. After a moment, I found myself in a tight hug. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around Jamie, feeling him breathing softly into my hair. He finally stepped back and looked me in the eyes, a compassionate look in his own that I had never seen before. I felt a giggle rise in my throat and slapped a hand over my mouth to cover it, effectively ruining the moment. An amused look crossed Jamie's face as I tried to hold back my impending giggle-fit. I stepped back awkwardly and collapsed into the chair by the TV, laughing hysterically. Jamie raised an eyebrow and walked back into the kitchen to retrieve our tea as giddy tears poured down my cheeks. When I finally stopped laughing, my hands clutching my tired stomach, Jamie handed me the mug of raspberry tea. I sipped it gratefully.

"You really must love your raspberry tea," Jamie commented, watching as I tipped the cup back and swallowed it. I looked toward him suspiciously, still drinking the tea.

"Stop watching me. It makes me nervous." Resigned, Jamie moved back over to the TV as I mock glared at him over my cup. I slid to the couch to lean over Jamie's shoulder. He flipped the channels until it reached the weather. We watched as a red strip moved across the bottom that flashed 'Blizzard Warning'. I removed myself from Jamie's back and sighed, stretching.

"I guess I'm stuck with you for awhile," I teased, turning around to look out the window. Jamie made a soft snorting noise.

"I guess so."

It was impossible to see if the storm was here yet; it was even darker out than it had been before.

"Well," I said, "what are we going to do?" I watched as Jamie flicked through the disgusting cooking shows. "I can make us dinner or something."

"If you want," Jamie replied distractedly. I shrugged and wandered over to the refrigerator.

"Preference?" I asked as I leaved through the fridge. He had a larger stock of veggies then Annie, which was nothing short of amazing.

"No."

I pulled out enough ingredients to make homemade pasta and sauce and set them on the counter; stopping to pull the recipe from my memory. Jamie stretched awkwardly on the small chair and leaned backwards to look out the window. I laughed mentally as I watched him. He looked like a little kid. He settled back into the chair, and I hurriedly looked back into the bowl of ingredients I was mixing, pausing to check on my pot of boiling water.

"It's going to be a long night," he sighed from the couch. "It's already snowing."

"I can cook all night," I replied, digging under the counter for an extra mixing bowl.. "I can even make the granola bars that all the cooking shows are so happily showing."

"Joy," Jamie remarked sarcastically. I raised my eyebrows at his tone and wrapped my hands around the nicely-shaped noodles, bringing them over to the pot of boiling water. I dumped them in quickly, and then moved over to the mixer to make the sauce.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Jamie asked warily from the chair.

"I guess we'll find out when you drop dead," I replied slyly, dropping a chopped tomato into the mixer. Jamie 'hn'-ed, turning the TV volume higher as I turned the mixer on. Twenty minutes later I was mixing the sauce with the noodles and Jamie was lying on the couch lazily.

"Hey, bum," I called. Jamie looked up slowly. "Food."

"D'wanna bring it here?" He requested. I wished I had a camera. Nobody would believe me if I described how he was sitting in that moment. I obediently brought two bowls over to the chair, one for me, and handed one to Jamie. As soon as he had taken the bowl, I sat on him sideways.

"Hey," he protested weakly, quickly shoving food into his mouth. I watched him for a good reaction. He looked up and caught my gaze. "S'good."

"Good," I said, relieved. I had forgotten a few of the ingredients for the sauce, so I just used what was in the fridge. Putting my own fork to my mouth, I settled in- on Jamie's lap- for a long night.


	8. You're an IDIOT

**Sorry this update took so long. It was a combination of a lot of writer's block and vacations. But you guys are crazy nice to me. Thanks for all the great reviews D**

By the third hour of boring granola cooking shows, I had made twenty-seven granola bars, danced around the room, and caused Jamie's legs to go numb from sitting on them. Jamie had sat on the chair, sat on the arm of the chair, tried one of my granola bars at my persistent pleading, and sat on the floor.

"How many flavors do you think they can possibly cover?" I asked Jamie in wonder. We each sat on one arm of the chair in front of the TV. The room had gotten persistently colder, and I now had a blanket wrapped firmly around myself. Jamie insisted that he was fine. The lady on the screen was making cranberry-apple-banana nut granola bars.

"No idea," he replied, eyes glazed over. I jumped as the wind howled against the house, and Jamie grabbed my arm to keep me from falling off the chair. When I had steadied myself on the chair again, I yawned and turned to Jamie with half closed eyes.

"It's got to be around midnight. I'm tired." I slid off the chair and landed on the floor, legs sprawled. Jamie yawned as well and stood gracefully, pointing to a clock near the kitchen.

"Twelve-thirty," he agreed and looked down at my slumped figure. "But, um, there's sort of a problem."

"Mmm. . .?"

"Well, you know how cold it is down here . . ." he fiddled anxiously with the bottom of his shirt. I nodded suspiciously. "It's a lot warmer upstairs, but I, uh, only have one bed."

"You have a couch, don't you?" I asked, sitting up straighter. There weren't any couches on the first floor; only the small armchair we had both previously occupied. He continued to twitch anxiously.

". . . No. . . ."

"Well," I slapped my hands onto my thighs, "as long as you don't try to rape me, I don't care." I stood up and yawned again.

"You don't?" Jamie yawned. "Stop that." I faked a yawn.

"Stop what?"

Jamie fixed me with a not-so-cold glare, and I glared back, taking it as a staring contest. I blinked first and yawned again. Jamie made his way over to the stairs and pointed up. I nodded enthusiastically and slunk over to him, making my way slowly up the stairs behind him.

"I'd rather sleep near you then on the cold floor. Or vice versa," I added solemnly as I stepped onto the floor of the second story. Jamie walked to his bed and stood awkwardly on the side of it as I visually searched the room. The walls were plain white, and the floor was wooden. There were virtually no decorations, and the only furniture was a dresser, his bed, and a nightstand.

"You've outdone yourself," I muttered sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at the uncomfortable figure by the bed. He made a small noise in the back of his throat as I turned slowly; discovering the rest of the room was just as bare.

"I'm going to, uh, change," Jamie offered quietly as I turned back toward him, slightly amused by his room.

"Kay," I nodded and glided over to his bed as he disappeared into the bathroom. His bed really _was_ small, and definitely only meant for one person. Fantastic. I slid in under the blankets, mindful of the loose purple dress I still wore. It was a recipe for disaster, but that would be dealt with when the time came. As I pulled the blankets up to my shoulders and snuggled into one of the unbelievably fluffy pillows, exhaustion overwhelmed me. I stared blankly at the light under the bathroom door and rolled over onto my stomach, burrowing my face under the pillow. With a soft sigh, I closed my eyes.

…

…

Ouch.

I feebly tried to wake up as my mind repeated itself. Ouch.

Something was digging itself into my leg.

I groaned in annoyance and was about to sit up before I realized something just _wasn't right_.

I opened my eyes and found head engulfed in purple. Whaaaat. . . ?

My eyes snapped open wider as I realized what it was.

_**OH SHIT.**_

With snappish reflexes, I quickly pulled my dress down. Except. . . when was blanket ever that lumpy?

I readied myself for complete embarrassment as I looked down, finally realizing the warm that covered me was no longer the blanket. The blanket wasn't even on the bed anymore. Instead, Jamie was wrapped around me from behind, sufficiently covering my bare stomach with his arms. The thing poking into my leg was his foot. His other leg was-

_Oh God._

I whimpered silently and tried to remove his other leg from between my upper thighs.

_Ohgodohgodohgod._

I felt a burst of air on my neck as Jamie snuggled into me further, his arms tightening for a moment and his leg riding farther up. I nearly started to cry as I looked at him over my shoulder. He was only wearing _boxers_!

At least he wasn't . . . you know. . .

I held the dress down over my chest, thankful his hands weren't _there_, and tried to slide away from him again. I still couldn't move.

"Jamie," I whispered softly, feeling my cheeks burn. "Jamie!" He hummed from behind me as his head slid to my shoulder blades and snuggled there.

"Jamie, come on."

Finally his arms moved slightly, and his leg slipped down to between my knees.

"Wha . . ." he whispered softly. I felt his eyes open against my back and winced in advance.

"Jamie, can you, uh," I paused and waited for him to move.

"Oh geez," he groaned and removed his arms from around my stomach and his leg from between mine before sliding onto the wooden floor. I pulled my dress hurriedly down and sat up, rubbing my head. Jamie sat on the floor, legs akimbo and hair wild, rubbing his own face in embarrassment. He looked toward me and quickly back down, fiddling with the bottoms of his boxers.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea . . ." he told the floor sheepishly, and then reached up to smooth his hair down vainly. I smoothed the dress where it crinkled on my leg and looked around his room just as awkwardly.

"Eh heh yeah," I managed, trying not to look at him. He was in _boxers!_ I needed to get out of his house ASAP before I turned into some kind of creepy . . . I don't know. Horndog. I mentally shook my head at that and pinched my leg in disgust. Ew.

But.

_Boxers!_

As if on cue, Jamie turned to look at me with what must have been the cutest expression ever recorded, ever. It took all of my willpower and a very deep breath to keep myself from jumping on him and probably making one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

"You know," he began, "we _are_ together."

_Don'tjumphimdon'tjumphim. Come on Alex! Willpower!_

"It's not, you know, _abnormal_ or anything. To do. That. Or other things."

My innocent inner voice was crying hysterically. Was he suggesting we . . .!

Jamie cleared his throat, seemingly losing his confidence.

"I, um," I stated, not realizing I was speaking. Jamie blinked at me curiously. I blushed crazily. "I've never . . ." I coughed and rubbed my hands over my face, trying not to die.

". . . What is it?" I tore my gaze away from Jamie's and got off the bed to walk toward the stairs. Easy to bolt that way. I slid my hand over the railing and picked up the stack of my clothes that Jamie probably had left there.

"I'mavirgintilmarriage," I squeaked, and fled down the stairs quickly, jumping into my shoes by the door and flying outside. There was still a lot of snow, but it wasn't nearly as high as it had been before. I ran through Jamie's shoveled backyard and onto the path I had paved for myself the night before. God, talk about embarrassing. I arrived at Annie's house soon after, out of breath and hoping to crawl into a hole. I flung myself against the door and screeched.

"AN-**NEEEEEEEE!**" I howled, banging my fists desperately on the door. It opened shortly after, Annie appearing incredibly annoyed.

"What! Gosh-" I burst into the house and jumped straight onto her couch.

"I told him I'm a virgin!" I squealed, burrowing under the pillows. The door closed and I heard a muffled giggle. "What!" I exclaimed, emerging from the pillows to glare at her. Annie broke out in full hysterical laughter.

"Who _cares!_" she said when the laughing had stopped. "You're such a _prude_. Gosh." She swung herself over to the kitchen, shaking her head.

"But-!"

"No buts!" Annie turned and shook her finger at me. "Do I have to do the speech?" At my blank look, she sighed. "Fine." Her voice rose several octaves. "Alex, honey, if this boy doesn't respect your decision to save yourself until you're married, then-"

"Annie," I said sternly. "You're crazy."

"Well what did he say?" Annie pushed a pot of water on the stove for tea.

"I don't know," I said and sat up on the couch, sitting cross-legged. "I kind of bolted."

Annie turned to me and placed a hand on her hip. "You, my friend, are a complete _idiot_." She turned back toward the water. "Not like it matters much to me, because I don't exactly _like_ that kid anyway."

I stayed silent.

"If he's any sort of a man, he should come after you. Oh, and what in seven hells are you wearing?"

"I'm gonna go change," I said dejectedly, ignoring her question completely. She didn't bother me as I climbed the stairs. I changed silently and folded the dress up to be washed.

"Alex, you want raspberry?" Annie called.

"Sure."

Just as I was setting my cell phone on my dresser, it started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Oh thank God Alex, I've been trying to reach you for an hour!" The relieved voice sighed into the phone.

"Kerri? Is that you?" Why in the world would my assistant be calling?

"Yeah, yeah Alex, but -!" She made a funny noise. "You don't have your laptop, do you?"

"Yes, but I'm not-"

"Doesn't matter! Check your email, and hurry up." She waited patiently as I booted my computer and brought up the email.

"I have one hundred and fifty-three emails! What's going on?" I instantly morphed into Businesswoman Extraordinaire! as Kerri launched into a long rant. I clicked on emails and read them as she explained some kind of huge crisis that was taking place back home.

"Okay, okay," I interjected. "I'm not working now though. Can't someone else take care of this?"

"NO!" Kerri screeched. "And besides, Bob himself told me to call you." Bob was _THE MAN_ of our company, so if he wanted me it had to be bad.

"You know I'm like a jillion hours away from home, right? I can't exactly come in." I complained, reading yet another **URGENT!** email.

"Well you're going to need to, because your flight to Singapore leaves in two days."

"**_WHAT!"_**


	9. Odd feelings and skanky blonde whores

"Please fasten your seatbelts and return trays to the upright position as we continue our descent. Thank you for flying with us today."

I sighed and continued to stare out the window, exhausted. I had only been in Singapore for a couple days, but I hadn't slept _at all_. That, and Annie had called multiple times to guilt-trip me about leaving her alone. It worked. Ray was helping with the animals, but still . . . I jumped as the flight attendant tapped me on the shoulder.

"Trash?" I shook my head absently and turned back to the window, sucking air in sharply as the plane dipped lower. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the cool window, my hands fisting in my shirt. I hated flying so much.

Ten minutes later I was dragging my one suitcase slowly behind myself, feeling my eyelids droop more with every step I took. All I had to do now was go catch the stupid ferry over to-

"Hey," a soft voice called. I felt a hand slide near my grip on my suitcase and gratefully let my arm drop to my side as Jamie picked the bag up with ease.

"Hey," I replied tiredly as he kissed me on the cheek. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

"Your _friend_ told me you don't sleep on planes and you probably wouldn't know left from right. I figured I could come get you." He leaned closer until his mouth was near my ear, "and I missed you." I giggled and stopped myself, feeling slap-happy from the lack of sleep.

"I think that was a good idea," I agreed as he removed stepped back. "Hey wait, you talked to Annie?" Jamie made a disgusted noise.

"The fisher guy- Ray? -killed a chicken because he's an _idiot_, so she came over to beg for help." I couldn't help but laugh.

"I doubt that's what happened." He shrugged as we walked outside and headed toward a taxi.

"Okay, maybe it didn't die, exactly." We slid into the car, and I almost instantly fell asleep against the door.

My eyes shot open as cold water dripped down my face and onto the floor. Muffled giggles came from behind me, and I groaned sleepily.

"I told you it'd work," a light female voice giggled.

"Hn," Jamie grunted. His hands were suddenly on my shoulder, and I realized I was lying down. "You up?"

"Of course I'm up," I said in annoyance as I lifted myself up. I was on a wooden bench, and Jamie was next to me on another one. A peppy looking blonde girl stood to the side of us, watching Jamie intently. She gave off me a kind of creepy feeling. Feeling slightly on edge, I raised an eyebrow and looked up to see the perfectly clear blue sky. "Are we on a boat?"

"The ferry," Jamie confirmed. At my confused expression, he continued. "I couldn't wake you in the car, so I had to carry you." The ditzy blonde girl giggled for a few seconds and stopped to look at me.

"You're _so_ lucky to have such a nice friend!" Jamie and I shared a look, and I watched him sigh. The girl batted her eyelashes at Jamie's back and sat down next to him, close enough so that her bare legs- when had her skirt gotten that high?- were touching his. A green eyed monster began to make itself known in my stomach.

"Can-" Jamie began.

"Um, who are you?" My voice came out catty as I watched her slide an arm through Jamie's. He turned slightly red and cast me a helpless look, trying vainly to free his arm without hurting her feelings. I fought the urge to rip her arm off.

"My name is Clarissa! What's your name?" She continued to snuggle closer to Jamie, who began to slide in the opposite direction as her blonde hair began to eat his face. Okay, maybe not, but she was pretty much cuddling him at this point.

Cue eyebrow raise.

"Hey-" Jamie started.

"I'm Alex," I said warily. "Why are you molesting my," I paused, catching Jamie's gaze, "_friend_?" **_Clarissa_ **giggled cutely again, and covered her mouth daintily.

"Well, he's such a cutie! Since I'm moving to Flower Bud village too, I figured I'd better snatch myself a cute boyfriend while I can! I'm going to sell flowers and stuff!"

"Um," Jamie began, eying my annoyed expression. He started using a little more force on the arm-removing.

"_Excuse me?_" I hissed, fists growing white-knuckled at my side. Her eyes grew wide.

"Are you jealous?" Her eyes flickered over to Jamie, and a horrified expression crossed her face. "Are you . . ._ together_?" Jamie yanked his arm away, and turned to her.

"_Yes_," he snarled, eyes narrowed. He turned and sat next to me on the opposite bench, wrapping an arm around my waist protectively. Clarissa burst into tears at his glare and ran until she was out of sight. I watched the direction she had disappeared in and Jamie shook his head, slightly relinquishing his hold on my side.

"You didn't have to _glare_ at her like that, you know," I said, turning back to Jamie. "Or are you always like that?"

"Hn."

"Of course you are; what am I talking about!"

"She was upsetting you." We sat in silence for a few moments before I attached myself to Jamie's arm.

"Thanks," I whispered, letting my head fall on his shoulder. I took the slight movement of his head as acknowledgement and let my eyes drift close again as Jamie pulled me closer.

"Okay, I'm seriously exhausted. Give me a break," I whined to Annie as she made dinner.

"Fine, I guess the chickens will just starve then," she replied sourly, adding a few too many hot peppers to the salad.

"I thought you said Ray fed them!" Annie 'hmmph'ed and stuck her head inside the fridge to look for goddess knows what. I curled my socked feet under myself as I snuggled back into Annie's couch, turning my attention back to the television.

"Did you hear anything about a new shop opening up?" I asked casually as Annie reappeared. I hadn't told Annie about the situation on the ferry.

"I know somebody bought the land where the orange trees are," she paused, contemplating. "Oooh, if those are getting cut down. . ." she raised a clenched fist and shook it at the ceiling.

"If she cuts those trees down, I'll personally come after her," I agreed, shaking my head. My show came back on, and I was absorbed instantly. Unfortunately, Annie was now interested in who 'her' was.

"You know who's moving here?" She asked, setting down the salad dressing to lean on the counter.

"Skanky little whore," I muttered before erupting into giggles. What a silly show! I saw Annie purse her lips out of the corner of my eye as she began to toss the salad.

"Well if you want to eat, now is the time. Then I think we have some horrible girl stalking to do, hmm?"

"Come on, Alex, slow down!" I sighed dramatically and stopped walking, waiting for my crippled friend to catch up. We were on our way to the Inn to spy on a certain newcomer. Annie panted as she caught up to me.

"Gosh, what's gotten up your butt lately?" I barely caught her sideways glance as she passed me on her crutches. It was almost pitch black outside as it usually was at night time in the winter. I stood still for a moment, letting her get ahead, before I began walking again.

"I don't like blonde sluts," I snarled, watching the hot air swirl away from my mouth.

"So brunette ones are okay?" Annie attempted to joke. She giggled once and sobered quickly when I did not follow suit. "You must have a good reason, and I'm definitely dying to hear it." Annie was so far ahead that I couldn't see her anymore. I was moving at a snail's pace.

"You won't need to hear it once you meet her," I replied, my voice softer. Hating her without knowing her wouldn't make it okay. Maybe she just made a mistake? I pushed open the Inn door as Annie waited impatiently next to me, tapping her foot against the ground. The first thing I noticed was that Gwen was sitting, legs sprawled with her back to Doug's counter, eyes closed. The second thing I noticed was Doug NOT at his counter.

"Whereisshe!" Annie demanded, gliding into the building to survey Gwen's inhumanly calm expression. Gwen sighed and opened her eyes before pointing upstairs. Annie pouted. "That's no fair." Gwen caught my gaze with her own and shook her head, letting an annoyed look creep onto her face. We watched as Annie crept over to the stairs and look longingly up. I sat on the floor next to Gwen and imitated her pose.

"Are we doomed?" I asked flatly.

"**SKANKY SLUT GIRL? ARE YOU UP THERE?**" Annie shouted up the stairs.

"Yes," Gwen replied, just as flatly. We sat in stone silence as Annie lingered by the stairs. The quiet noise of feet pattered across the ceiling, and I sighed in unison with Gwen.

"Hi there," I heard Clarissa's bizarrely cute voice echo down the stairs. "My name's Clarissa!" I heard Annie snort softly before her voice creaked up a few octaves to imitate Clarissa.

"Like, I'm Annie!"

Gwen muffled a laugh from beside me, and I let a grin creep onto my face. Annie wasn't usually mean like that, but she had obviously picked up that same creepy vibe I had gotten on the ferry. Judging from Gwen's reaction, she had felt it too.

"That's such a cool name," Clarissa gushed, not catching Annie's sarcasm. We heard her descend the stairs quickly. I almost cracked up as I listened to the sound of Annie backpedaling awkwardly on her crutches.

"Um, yeah, so what are you doing in this village? Like totally?" Annie asked, trying to keep her fake voice up.

"Ohmigod, I just saw a flyer in the newspaper, and I totally have always wanted to sell flowers and stuff!" Gwen rolled up in a ball and stuffed the collar of her shirt in her mouth, tears of mirth streaming down her face. It seemed like Clarissa had already accepted Annie as a friend. I bit my finger hard as Annie laughed nervously.

"But, you know, those orange trees? You aren't cutting them down, right?" Clarissa laughed like that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard in her life.

"Of course I am! Who needs oranges anyway! Trees in general are a waste of space!" There was a silence, and I presumed Annie was glaring daggers.

"I hope you get bitten by a rabid squirrel," Annie remarked calmly, her real voice intact. I heard her turn and begin to make her way to the front of the Inn so I stood up to open the door for my fuming friend. As we burst out into the cold air, Annie turned to me.

"This means war."

**Ahh guys I'm sorry for the wait. I had to retype this chapter three times because Word kept deleting it for whatever reason. I promise it won't happen again.**


End file.
